Interested in Becoming a Catholic?
Are you interested in becoming a Catholic? Were you previously baptized in the Catholic faith and would like to renew your commitment? Welcome to the RCIA! The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is for those who have never been baptized and who, in a faith response to the Word of God, ask to be prepared for sacramental initiation in the Church.
There are other types of candidates who present themselves to the church: those partially initiated. They may have been:
- validly baptized Catholics with no subsequent experience of Church;
- validly baptized Catholics, but never received the Sacraments of Eucharist or Confirmation
- baptized and perhaps confirmed in another Christian church, having lived their faith and seeking reception into the Roman Catholic communion.
If you would like to learn more about the RCIA, please contact the Office of Formation Ministries at 985-446-5127.
Steps of RCIA Process
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the process through which adults are fully initiated into the Catholic faith community. This process includes four formation periods: the Period of Inquiry, the Period of Catechumenate, the Period of Purification and Enlightenment, and the Period of Mystagogy. Each period is part of an ongoing conversion journey, which changes the direction of our lives and changes how we translate our lives into meaning.
In a sense, the RCIA is for the whole Church, since it is the process whereby the Church prepares new members for itself. With its dependence on evangelizers, sponsors, and catechumenate team members, it entrusts the task of sharing the faith to each member of the Church. It calls all of us to become a welcoming, faith-filled community, the People of God. (Adapted from the RCIA Team Manual, pp. 3,5)