RCIA stands for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and it is the process through which persons – adults and children – join or complete their initiation into the Catholic Church.
Is the RCIA for me?
The RCIA is for three groups of people:
Those who are not baptized.
Those who were baptized into another Christian denomination and wish to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Baptized Catholics who were never formed in the Catholic faith and have not completed their initiation; that is, who have received neither the sacrament of Confirmation nor Eucharist.
How does the RCIA work?
RCIA consists of four periods of formation which are marked by rituals that celebrate what has been completed and call a person into the next phase. There is no specific length of time for each period. The RCIA is a journey which gives a person time for prayer, study, and conversion so as to hear the Word of God and embrace the call to discipleship and holiness. The stages are as follows:
The Inquiry or Precatechumenate
The Catechumenate
The Lenten period of Purification and Enlightenment
Mystagogy or a time of deeper understanding of the “mysteries”