RCIA sessions are held on Thursday evenings from September through May from 7 PM - 8:30 PM.
Contact Mary Jordan at the parish office or by email at mjordan@stsmarthaandmaryparish.org for more information.
RCIA is intended for any non-Catholic who is interested in learning about our faith or has a desire to become a member of the Catholic Church. It is also for Catholics who have been baptized but have not received the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist or Confirmation.
Each year on Holy Saturday during the Easter Vigil, thousands of men and women are received into the Catholic Church in the United States. Parishes welcome these new members through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and at a liturgy bringing men and women into full communion with the Catholic Church.
What are the steps of RCIA? Listed at this site (www.usccb.org) are questions and answers about RCIA.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)—For adults today, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is for those who have never been baptized (catechumens) and are seeking to convert to the Catholic Christian faith. This process is meant to form them into the fullness of the Christian life and to become disciples of Jesus, their teacher. This includes an initiation into the mystery of salvation, the practice of faith, hope, and love, and other virtues in a succession of liturgical rites. Persons baptized into another Christian church and now seeking full communion with the Catholic Church are also welcomed to participate along with catechumens in the RCIA in the process of learning about the Catholic faith and being formed in that faith. They bring to the process of preparation their prior experience of Christian life and prayer. For a baptized Christian, reception into full communion with the Catholic Church involves reception of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and then a Profession of Faith followed by the celebration of Confirmation and the Eucharist.