Our Lady of the Visitation Parish
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Program
2009-2010 Sessions

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, which is better known as RCIA, is a process designed for three different groups of people: 1) adults who are not baptized and would like to join the Catholic Church, 2) adults who were baptized as children into the Catholic faith, but who have not completed their initiation in the Church because they have not celebrated their First Holy Communion and/or Sacrament of Confirmation, and 3) adults who have been validly baptized in another Christian denomination and who now want to be received in the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church welcomes people of all faiths and backgrounds into the RCIA process. Those who decide after careful discernment that they do, in fact, wish to become Catholic will be formally brought into the Church at the Easter Vigil (the night before Easter Sunday).

To be considered a "fully initiated" Catholic, a person needs to have been baptized, to have made his or her First Communion in the Catholic Church, and to have celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation. Each of these Sacraments of Initiation is celebrated at the Easter Vigil. The RCIA process is designed to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ in your pilgrimage.

How the Process Works

Here at OLVP, the regular RCIA program meets every Monday at 7:00 p.m. in the barn from September until Lent. The culminating event will be the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist for all our new members on the vigil of Easter.

During our RCIA sessions, topics like Jesus, the Bible, the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, prayer, Church history, and liturgical year, social justice, and service issues, are presented. We highly encourage individual and group participation.

The speakers from our RCIA team welcome questions, and our parish staff is always available to answer questions as well. We love questions - even the tough ones! We want to provide you with all the information you need to make an informed decision - and one that you are comfortable making - about whether or not you truly wish to be fully members of the Catholic Church. If, after you have asked some questions and done some reflecting and praying, you realize that this is not the right faith for you, we will certainly wish you well as you continue your journey. We believe that the grace of the Holy Spirit and a well-formed conscience will lead you correctly.


Other Things You Might Want to Know

Cost:

There is no fee for the Rite of Christian Initiation process.

Sponsor:

Everyone who celebrates the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation needs a godparent/sponsor. A sponsor is a Catholic adult who has already been confirmed and who agrees to support you as you prepare for Baptism or Confirmation. Ideally, you and your sponsor will continue that relationship even after Easter. We will provide a parishioner sponsor for you.

Spouses and significant others are extremely important to this process - that person often may be the reason you wanted to convert to Catholicism in the first place! We definitely recognize this and welcome their participation in any of the sessions they choose to attend.

What If You Are Already Baptized?

Generally speaking, a person who has already been baptized in a Christian faith tradition will make a profession of faith and receive First Communion and celebrate Confirmation through the RCIA process (This is because the Catholic Church accepts the validity of all Trinitarian baptisms). If you have never been baptized, however, or if you were baptized in another denomination that does not use what's called the "Trinitarian formula" for baptisms, you will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. If you're uncertain about your baptism, just ask us.