Newly Initiated Catholics Gather at St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica for Mass

On Sunday April 21, 2024 the Most Reverend Francis Leo, Archbishop of Toronto celebrated Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica with the newest Catholics from across the archdiocese.

Several hundreds of newly initiated Catholics attended the archdiocese's 2024 Neophyte Mass along with family, sponsors and friends. 

Neophyte is a Greek word meaning ‘newly planted’. The early Christian community adopted that word and applied it to people who had just been initiated at the Easter celebration. It signaled to the Christian community that these people, who had gone through several years of apprenticeship in the Christian way of life, needed specific nurturing, like a new plant that needs particular attention so that it can grow and mature into the beautiful plant God intended it to be. In the contemporary vision of Christian initiation of adults, we apply this same term to those who have just celebrated the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil. The whole Easter Season is devoted to nurturing the faith of Neophytes and helping them to understand the Sacramental Mysteries of our faith that we celebrate each Sunday and encouraging them to witness to their faith in the world through the activities of their daily life. 

To watch Archbishop Leo's homily from this special Mass please click here. 

Photo Gallery

For more photos, please visit the archdiocesan Faceboook page.