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Vatican City, Jun 4, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday appointed Pittsburgh Auxiliary Bishop Mark Eckman to lead the northern U.S. diocese, with the bishop-elect succeeding Bishop David Zubik in that role.

Leo accepted Zubik’s resignation June 4. The outgoing bishop turned 75 — the usual age of retirement — last September. 

A Pittsburgh native, Zubik spent his entire priestly and episcopal career in the diocese, which serves nearly 628,000 Catholics in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

Eckman, 66, was born in Pittsburgh on Feb. 9, 1959. He has been an auxiliary bishop of the diocese since 2022. 

His priestly formation took place at Saint Paul Seminary in East Carnegie, Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.

After his ordination on May 11, 1985, Eckman mostly served in different roles in parishes and schools in South Hills, a southern suburb of Pittsburgh. 

He was episcopal vicar for clergy personnel from 2013 to 2020, and in 2021, became pastor of Resurrection Parish, after acting as administrator during its founding from the merger of two other parishes.

Eckman also served as a member on several boards, including the priest council, the U.S. bishops’ conference National Advisory Board, the permanent diaconate formation board, the seminary admissions board, and the priest candidates admissions board.

The prelate's episcopal motto is “To serve in faith and charity.” According to his biography on the webpage of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, the bishop likes to spend his spare time visiting extended family. He is also an avid nature photographer who likes to hike and ski.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh covers 3,754 square miles in five Pennsylvania counties. It has a population of around two million people.

CNA Staff, Jun 4, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The recent election of Pope Leo XIV has sparked new interest in Catholicism, with Google data showing a spike in searches on “how to become Catholic” shortly after the death of Pope Francis in April. Meanwhile, across many dioceses — and especially among young people — anecdotal reports indicate an upswing in people joining the Catholic Church in recent years.

While the Church’s requirements include some terminology that may be unfamiliar, the process has its roots in the early Church. If you’re looking to become Catholic in 2025, here’s a guide on what you should know — from the stages of spiritual preparation to important terms and historical background on what Christian initiation has looked like over the centuries.

What is OCIA? 

The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults or “OCIA” is the normative way to receive formation and prepare to enter the Catholic Church. This process was previously known as RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, until the U.S. bishops renamed it in 2021 to reflect a more accurate translation of the original Latin.

OCIA has four phases designed to intellectually form and spiritually prepare participants — who have attained the age of reason (generally around the age of 7) — to become Catholic.

What are the stages of OCIA?

Evangelization and Prechatechumenate: The inquirer learns of Christ and is drawn to the Catholic Church; he or she takes part in a period of searching and takes the first step toward becoming Catholic by conversing with a priest or parish director of Christian initiation to become a catechumen.

Catechumenate: Usually over the course of a year or less, a catechumen or candidate takes this time to learn more about the Catholic faith and what it means for his or her life. The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens and the Rite of Election take place during this stage. 

Purification and Enlightenment: During Lent, a catechumen anticipates his or her initiation into the Catholic Church through prayer and learning. Initiation commonly takes place on the Easter Vigil, which is the culmination of the process where catechumens and candidates receive the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist.)

Mystagogy: After being received into the Church, newly initiated Catholics continue to be formed in their faith during what the Church calls the “Period of Mystagogy.” This lasts until Pentecost, the feast 50 days after Easter in which the Church celebrates the birth of the Church, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples.

What is the ‘Rite of Election’?

The Rite of Election is the stage of Christian initiation before baptism. Catechumens gather with their sponsors and families, usually on the first Sunday of Lent.

During the Rite of Election ceremony, the local bishop asks the catechumens: “Do you wish to enter fully into the life of the Church through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist?” and they respond: “We do.” Catechumens write their names in the Book of the Elect, further confirming their desire to be baptized.

Through this rite, catechumens become known as “the elect.” Only the unbaptized partake in this rite, because those who are baptized are already known as God’s elect.

What’s the difference between a catechumen and a candidate? 

Catechumen: A catechumen is someone who is unbaptized and seeking to become Catholic. 

Candidate: A candidate is a baptized Christian seeking to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. 

What did Christian initiation look like in the early Church? 

While the Second Vatican Council renewed the OCIA process, Christian initiation goes back to the early Church.

In the early Church, before the fourth century, Christian initiation “would have been rather intense,” explained Timothy O’Malley, associate director for research at Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life and academic director for the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy.

In its earliest form, Christian initiation would have lasted three years or more. 

“There was a real sense of required conversion: If you were an actor (involved with festivals related to the gods) or in the military, you needed to quit,” O’Malley told CNA. “Much catechesis involved moral formation in a new way of life, as well as introduction to the creed.”

OCIA now is largely based on the fourth- and fifth- century model, where catechumens would have prepared for the sacraments of initiation during Lent and entered the Church during the Easter Vigil.  

“During the 40 days, they would have fasted, prayed, and gone to regular sermons,” O’Malley said. “We have, for example, sermons on the creed and other dimensions of Scripture.” 

Once Christianity could be practiced publicly, “there were new options for initiating people,” O’Malley explained.

“Great public catechists and preachers,” such as Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, and Ambrose of Milan, “gave public sermons encouraging people to enroll in the catechumenate leading up to Lent,” he added.

O’Malley noted that some of the reason for changes in the initiation process is that Christianity is not as unknown as it once was. 

“The complication today, of course, is that we live in a culture in which Christianity, while not necessarily totally well known, isn’t the novelty of the fourth and fifth centuries,” O’Malley said. “You can get the Lord’s Prayer online or look up the words of the creed on your own (both of these were handed on in secret as part of fourth and fifth century initiation).”

But historical Christian initiation is still connected to today in certain ways.

“But the challenge, in some sense, is always the same: How do you invite people to experience genuine conversion toward discipleship?” O’Malley said. “Christian conversion is not reducible to studying but involves a wholesale change of life: and that we possess in common with the Fathers of the Church.”

How do I join an OCIA program? 

To join an OCIA program, reach out to a local Catholic parish. If you have Catholic friends, they may be able to help you with this. A priest or parish leader of Christian initiation may want to meet with you to discuss your desire to become Catholic and help to guide you through the next steps of the process.

CNA Newsroom, Jun 4, 2025 / 06:33 am (CNA).

Follow our live coverage of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, first U.S.-born pope in history.

New York City, N.Y., Jun 4, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

In the Archdiocese of New York, where ordinations to the priesthood have sharply declined in recent decades, a new initiative is seeking to rekindle vocations. Launched this spring, “Called By Name” is the archdiocese’s latest attempt to spark interest in the priesthood.

“Only two men applied to seminary last year to be diocesan priests,” Father George Sears, director of vocations for the archdiocese, told CNA. “As far as I know, that’s the lowest number that I’ve ever seen.”

During Mass on Good Shepherd Sunday last month, parishioners across the city were invited to fill out pamphlets or scan a QR code to nominate young men they believe might be called to the priesthood.

According to Sears, since May 11 more than 260 names have been submitted. Each nominee will receive a personal letter from Cardinal Timothy Dolan inviting him to dinner in August. Called By Name comes at a time of mounting concern for the future of the priesthood not only in New York but also across the nation.

Within the Archdiocese of New York, the number of priests has fallen by more than half since 1970, according to data published by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. 

Fewer men are entering the seminary and many parishes now rely on one priest to serve communities once staffed by two or more. In the past 50 years, many parishes in New York have been forced to merge or close, leaving communities without a resident pastor.

Sears said he speculates that the reason for a waning interest in joining the priesthood is layered. “There’s a greater fear of making a long-term commitment,” he said. “Also the idea, somehow that fulfillment comes from a certain checklist, like, my life is fulfilled if I have the right career as opposed to happiness coming from a relationship based in love.”

He pointed to other factors including a growing secularism in society, the migration of Catholic families from the Northeast to other regions of the country, and the lingering impact of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. 

“We’re still very much suffering from the results of the sexual abuse scandal,” Sears said. “I think we’re still in the shadow of that.”

Daniel Ogulnick, a Catholic man in his early 20s and a native New Yorker, first heard about the archdiocese’s initiative on Good Shepherd Sunday while sitting in the pews of St. Joseph’s Church in Manhattan. For him, “Called By Name” may not go far enough.

“The same way that God calls us as individuals, maybe the Church should approach it through parish priests really getting to know the young men in their parish and thinking about each one’s unique talents and gifts,” Ogulnick said. He said he believes a more personal approach may be more effective, especially for men like him who are actively discerning a vocation.

Sears doesn’t disagree, but he stressed the limits of the current situation in the diocese. “When we’re in a ‘vocations crisis’ ... you’re spread thinner,” he said, adding that “Called By Name” can help priests foster relationships with young men discerning the priesthood whom they might not otherwise reach. 

“The hope is that the priests who are involved in this can say to everyone, ‘Hey, come ... join us. Come and pray with us a little bit. Meet some other men who are also curious,’” Sears said. 

At St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, the final step of formation for men preparing to become diocesan priests in the Archdiocese of New York and the only major seminary still operating in the state, 18 men are currently enrolled, though not all are studying for diocesan priesthood. 

Bishop James Massa, who serves as the rector of St. Joseph, said that despite historically low enrollment numbers, the young men currently in seminary are distinctly committed. 

“The fact of the matter is that most men who enter stay and get ordained,” Massa said. “You walk into this seminary and many others, and you hear joy and laughter. It’s a sign of vitality.”

The rector cautions against romanticizing a time when high enrollment — once reaching 200 seminarians in Yonkers — was seen as the sole measure of success, though he acknowledges that increasing enrollment is still the goal. 

“If we romanticize the past too much, if we think of a seminary like a seminary in the 1950s, I’m not sure that’s what we want,” he said. “We do want more vocations, no question about it. But to return in a kind of romanticized fashion to that size of a seminary of the past I think is unrealistic.”

Massa said he believes that in today’s climate, a smaller, more intentional seminary environment allows for stronger formation. With St. Joseph’s expecting around 60 seminarians this fall, the demand for individualized attention is already considerable.

Among those discerning the priesthood is Zachary Adamcik, a 17-year-old high school senior from Port Jervis, New York. He has applied to Seton Hall University and plans to begin his seminary formation at St. Andrew’s Hall in Newark before eventually moving on to St. Joseph’s. His goal is to eventually become a parish priest for the Archdiocese of New York.

“I’ve been around so many good priests in my life,” Adamcik said. “Parish life is a very beautiful life. You know, to baptize some kid one day and also to, sadly, you know, bury another. Just the huge diversity of ministry. It’s very appealing to me.”

Sears said parishioners are still encouraged to submit nominations to “Called By Name” well into the summer and nominees can expect to receive a personal invite from the cardinal to one of several dinners and events hosted by the archdiocese before fall arrives in New York.

Feast date: Jun 04

The church remembers St. Optatus on June 4. As a convert from paganism, he is best known for his opposition to the heresy of Donatism, and his six treatises composed against them. One of them, against Parmenian, is still extant, and was mentioned by St. Jerome in his De Viris Illustribus as having been composed in six books. The treatise stresses the need for unity and is conciliatory in tone, but it criticizes Donatist teachings on Baptism, and stresses that the Church cannot be limited to Africa but is “catholic.”

Optatus was highly praised by such contemporaries as Augustine and Fulgentius of Ruspe. He died in 387 A.D. as Bishop of Milevis, Numidia, in Africa.

Feast date: Jun 04

“Zeal for Thy house has consumed me!”

Born in Villa Santa Maria, Italy on October 13, 1563, Francis Caracciolo was given the name Ascanio at his baptism.  His mother was a relative of St. Thomas Aquinas. He lived a virtuous life as a youth and seemed inclined towards a religious vocation. When he was 22 he contracted a form of leprosy which he begged God to cure him of.  He promised to follow what seemed clear to him as his calling to the priesthood immediately upon being cured.

He was cured instantly upon making the promise, and left immediately for Naples to study for the priesthood.  On his ordination he joined the confraternity of The White Robes of Justice, who were devoted to helping condemned criminals to die a holy death, reconciled with God.

Five years after he went to Naples, a letter was delivered to him which was in fact addressed to another Ascanio Caracciolo, a distant relative.  The letter was an appeal from Father Giovanni Agostino Adorno, of Genoa, to this other Ascanio to join him in founding a religious order. Reading the lettter he realized that the vision of Fr. Adorno was in total compliance with his own ideas for a religious institute and he interpreted this as a sign of God’s plan.

He responded to the letter and the two men spent a few weeks together in retreat to draw up the institutions and rule. The congregation was approved by Pope Sixtus V on July 1, 1588.

The congregation lives both and active and contemplaive life, perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament being one of the pillars of their life.  They work with the sick, poor, prisoners and as missionaries. In addition to the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, they have a fourth which forbids them to seek or accept ecclesiastical honors.

Upon making his profession, Caracciolo took the name Francis in honor of the saint of Assissi. He was noted for his ardent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, often being found in ecstasy, and frequently repeating the words of the Psalm, “Zeal for Thy house has consumed me.” He died of a severe fever on the eve of Corpus Christi in Agnone, on June 4 in 1608, with his oft-repeated words on his lips.  Those same words were found burned into the flesh of his heart when his body was opened after his death.

He was canonized by Pope Pius VII on May 24, 1807.

Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to not delay in pursuing their faith during his Wednesday General Audience.

On Tuesday, 3 June 2025, thousands of Ugandan pilgrims and visitors from across Africa and beyond converged at the Namugongo Ugandan Martyrs Shrine to commemorate the feast of the 22 Catholics executed between 1885 and 1887 on the orders of Buganda King Mwanga II for refusing to renounce their faith.

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