The RCIA Process for the Border Town Parishes

In the early church small Christian communities took individuals into their group of believers and introduced them to their way of life. In those days persecution of Christians was prevalent. Newcomers knew that commitment to this faith could lead them to imprisonment and death. Still many wanted to be members of this group!

By the 2nd and 3rd Century initiation into the faith began to take on formal shape! This was the beginning of a “catechumenate”. The Roman Emperor Constantine made the Christian Religion legal, in 313. At that time there were large numbers of men and women who wanted to join the Christian Community. The quality of their preparation and catechesis however was deficient.

By the 5th Century all of the Western World was Christian. Infant Baptism was the traditional way one entered the Catholic Church. The catechumenate basically died until the 20th Century.

In the 20th Century catechumenal structures began to be revived in Africa and in France. Catholic missionaries recognized the need for Christian tradition to be established in foreign countries. In France problems arose because of the large number of non-practicing Catholics. At the Vatican II Council the bishops voted on the restoration of the catechumenate with a vote of 2,165 Yes’s and only 9 No’s (there was 1 null vote). In 1966 the provisional ritual was published. This was followed by a second draft in 1969 distributed for experimentation.

In 1972 the Vatican promulgated the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and in 1986 the United States bishops approved additions to the Order and National Statutes and a national plan for implementation. In 1988 in the United States the implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults became mandatory for all at the age of reason or older who have not yet been baptized.

An Introduction

The process by which adults come into the Church has come to be known as “RCIA”, which is short for “The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.”

The RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) is to be a process, not a program. It forms a community of inquirers, sponsors and guides moving through the education, formation and ritualization of entrance into the Catholic community, whereby those interested in learning about the Catholic faith come together on a weekly basis to learn about the scriptures and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, and at the same time, to discover where God is present in their lives.

The process is designed for those adults and children over the age of seven who are:

The unbaptized. The primary focus of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is on those who are not already Christian and have not been catechized.
Baptized but uncatechized. Those who have been baptized either as Roman Catholics or as members of another Christian community but did not receive further catechetical formation or instruction. These typically have also not celebrated confirmation nor Eucharist.
Those seeking full Catholic Communion. These are baptized, practicing Christians from other denominations who seek entry into the Catholic Church.

In the case of children who have reached the age of reason, the proper pastor should be consulted for information about Baptism and the other Sacraments of Initiation.