R.C.IA. - Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults

Definition

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) names the process by which interested persons gradually become members of the Roman Catholic Church.

The R.C.I.A. is primarily a journey of faith:

From the awareness of stirring of faith and curiosity within one's heart,

• through all those stages of asking and seeking,
• through beginning involvement with Roman Catholic people,
• through hearing the Gospel proclaimed and by faithful reflection and prayer on this Word of God,
• through study and discussion about the Catholic experience,
• through doubts and hesitations,
• through discernment of God's call for them as individuals,
• through the steps of commitment,
• through the sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist)

to a life of faith, love, and justice lived in communion with Catholics throughout the world.

General Information

The implementation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults is addressed to the following groups:

1. Unbaptized Adult Converts (RCIA Part I);
2. Unbaptized Children of Catechetical Age (RCIA Part II, chapter 1);
3. Baptized but Uncatechized Adults and Children of Catechetical Age (Catholic or Non-Catholic) Preparing for Confirmation and Eucharist (RCIA Part II, chapter 4);
4. Baptized Christian (Non-Catholic) Candidates for Reception in the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.

Conversion, a gradual process

• The R.C.I.A. as a rite, marks stages along the path to full commitment in the Roman Catholic Church; the R.C.I.A. as a process, describes in broad terms what this gradual commitment means.
• The R.C.I.A. as formation gradually looks both to the inner transformation of the individual to God's call as given week by week in the lectionary of Scripture readings at the Sunday Eucharist and to the gradual transformation of the person to an active member of the local church wherever he or she lives.