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☆ Diocese of Savannah ☆ hem (Dross 1 MN * WMM Vol. 80, No. 17 $.50 PER ISSUE Thursday, April 27, 2000 Contents Headline Hopscotch 2 News 3 Commentary 4-5 Around the Diocese 6-7 Faith Alive! 8-9 Notices 10-11 Last But Not Least 12 Church welcomes tens of thousands of new members at Easter By Nancy Hartnagel Washington (CNS) t Easter Vigil services around the country, the Catholic Church welcomed tens of thousands of new members. In the 90 U.S. dio ceses for which Catholic News Service obtained figures, approximately 63,000 people became Catholic April 22 at solemn Holy Saturday vig ils that mark the high point of the church’s litur gical year. This figure includes nearly 24,000 catechu mens who had never been baptized in any Christian denomination and who were baptized, confirmed and received first Eucharist, as well as some 39,000 candidates, or baptized Chris tians who were initiated fully as Catholics through the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist. Pope John Paul II leads the Way of the Cross around Rome's ancient Colosseum on Good Friday, April 21. If the balance of U.S. dioceses—roughly half—report similar numbers, the total of new Catholics likely would be well over 100,000. The numbers cited were provided by individ ual diocesan newspapers and the U.S. bishops’ evangelization office in Washington. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles reported a high of 3,271 new members, with the Arch diocese of Chicago next at 2,507 new members. Nearly 20 other dioceses welcomed more than 1,000 new members. They include: Diocese of Phoenix, 1,967; Diocese of Galveston-Houston, 1,905; Archdiocese of Indianapolis, 1,870; Archdiocese of Atlanta, 1,709; Archdiocese of Cincinnati, 1,706; Diocese of Dallas, 1,700; and Diocese of San Diego, 1,661. Also in this category are: Archdiocese of New York, 1,458; Diocese of Orange, Calif., 1,450; Diocese of Lansing, Mich., 1,378; Archdiocese of Saint Louis, 1,328; Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 1,262; (Continued on page 11) The Easter Triduum: from death to life W Left: The crucifix is unveiled on Good Friday, as Christ's death on the Cross is commemorated. Right: Bishop J. Kevin Boland lights the Easter Candle at the beginning of the Easter Vigil Mass of the Lord's Resurrection. Services were held in the Undercroft of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, as the upper church is under renovation. More Triduum photos on pages 6-7. Photos by Jonas N. Jordan.