| One of the ten elect came with a "plus one" for baptism last Holy Saturday night at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Four-and-a-half-month-old Spencer William Isbell joined his mother, May Yuen Isbell, in the baptismal pool to receive the waters of new life in Christ --- the high point of a spiritual journey that began before Spencer's birth last fall.
May and Spencer were two of an estimated
3,000 new Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, most
of whom were received into the Catholic Church during parish
Easter Vigil celebrations (and, in some cases, at other times
during the Easter season). According to the Office for Worship,
close to 1,400 elect (previously unbaptized) received the
sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation and Eucharist),
while approximately 1,600 candidates (previously baptized)
received confirmation and Eucharist.
 A
Chinese-American born in Orange County, May, 33, was raised
in a Catholic family who thought she should decide as an adult
if she wanted to be baptized in the faith. Two-and-a-half
years ago, she married Bill Isbell III, a Catholic, in a wedding
at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Westwood. After becoming
pregnant, May, an eye doctor at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Group,
decided she wanted the Catholic faith both for herself and
her baby.
Along with the other elect and candidates in the RCIA process, May attended weekly Mass. Less than a week after Spencer's birth, she left her house for the first time to attend the Rite of Acceptance at the Cathedral. "Spencer went to most of the RCIA sessions with me, and everyone got attached to him," May told The Tidings in a phone interview March 28 on her first day's return to work after maternity leave.
 Commenting
on this week's cover photo (taken by her father-in-law, M.
William Isbell, Jr., moments after Spencer's baptism), May
said her baby son was remarkably calm during his three pool
immersions, only crying at the last dunking.
"He quieted after seeing Msgr. Kevin Kostelnik when he was lifted from the pool," she said, adding, "We're overjoyed."
"What a wonderful Easter this has been," added Bill.
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