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What are the steps for an adult to become a member of the Catholic Church?

THE PATH TO BECOMING CATHOLIC is the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA. It is made up of several stages, each with its own initiation rites.

The RCIA’s focus is on preparing unbaptized adults to enter the Church, but the same program, with modifications, provides for the initiation into the faith of non-Catholic Christians and adults who were baptized as Catholics but never completed their sacraments.

It’s like a relationship. First, you meet and you want to get to know each other. That is the period of inquiry. For most, this begins with a meeting with the pastor or the head of the RCIA program at the parish you would like to join, and may continue with subsequent meetings and discussions to ensure that this is an appropriate path for you. This period lasts for as long as you need it to.

Then you “go steady.” That is the period of the catechumenate, during which you receive instruction about the Catholic faith. It begins with the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens, at which participants (called catechumens if unbaptized and candidates if baptized) are welcomed into their new congregation at a Mass. Like the inquiry period, the catechumenate lasts as long as you need it to.

Then you get engaged, so to speak, entering what is called the period of purification and enlightenment, which coincides with Lent. It begins with the Rite of Election, where you are presented to a bishop at a service in the cathedral and he calls you to the sacraments at Easter.

At the Easter Vigil, catechumens are baptized, then make first communion and are confirmed. Candidates, who, as we said, have been baptized previously, do not need to be baptized again, but they do receive communion and confirmation. This celebration is a bit like a wedding and reception all in one. The honeymoon is the period of mystagogy, when you continue to meet with the people who have accompanied you through this process, receiving further catechesis and deepening your understanding of what you have received.

This is the way our Church welcomes and blesses, forms and informs those seeking to share our life.