| RCIA - Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults |
The RCIA is the process by which adults who are not Catholics are welcomed into the Christian family in the Catholic Church. Becoming a Catholic is not just a matter of learning and accepting a number of beliefs. It is a process of growth or conversion. It involves personal growth, as well as growing into a particular Catholic community or parish. For this reason each parish in the Catholic Church is responsible for its own RCIA process.
Those who want to find out more about being a Catholic gather each Thursday evening in Cathedral House. After a cup of tea or coffee, we begin with a short time of prayer, which is followed by a short talk (20 minutes). After the talk we split into smaller groups and share with each other any thoughts and feelings we might have about the talk and how the subject of the talk relates to our lives. We come together again for prayer and conclude with tea and coffee.
Anyone is welcome to come to these evening sessions without making any sort of commitment. Those who want to enquire more seriously into becoming a Catholic are offered a sponsor. The sponsor is one of the RCIA team whom the enquirer can talk to between meetings. The sponsor is not there to persuade, s/he is just someone who can travel with an enquirer on their journey in faith. S/he may help clarify something that was said in the talk or the sharing group and s/he might pray with the enquirer if that is what the enquirer would like.
After a period of enquiry, some people may feel they wish to become a Catholic, although they may not feel ready or able to be a full member of the Catholic Church just yet. They will have accepted the way of Jesus Christ, but are not necessarily ready or willing to believe all that the Catholic Church believes and teaches. There is a special service (or rite) which takes pace in the Cathedral to mark this, called the Rite of Acceptance. The Rite of Acceptance is usually celebrated as part of the parish Sunday Mass (Eucharist). If the enquirer has already been baptised in a different Christian tradition, they are called a candidate after the Rite of Acceptance. If the enquirer has not been baptised then they become a catechumen.
Together with their sponsors, the catechumens and candidates will now join in some of the parish's worship as well as gathering with the RCIA team and the enquirers for the Thursday evening sessions. They will spend this period of candidacy or catechumenate discovering the power of God in their lives and learning more about the basic beliefs of the Catholic Church. Those who are catechumens may spend a year or more in the catechumenate before taking a further step. The period of candidacy (for those already baptised) usually lasts only a few months. The RCIA is not a programme into which people are straight-jacketed, so candidates can take as long as they need.
On the First Sunday of Lent, those catechumens throughout the Diocese who wish to be baptised at Easter gather at the Cathedral to be called (or elected) to Baptism by the Bishop. Baptised candidates, who fell ready to become full members of the Catholic Church also gather to be called by the Bishop to continue their conversion.
This is a time of intense preparation for baptism. The elect (as the catechumens are now called) reflect on the Word of God, the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Three special rites, called Scrutinies, are celebrated during which the elect are called to experience the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in their own lives, and to scrutinize their lives in light of the Gospel. It is a joyful season of growth. Baptised candidates preparing to become full members of the Catholic Church join the elect in this preparation.
After sunset on the eve of Easter Sunday, the parish gathers with the elect and candidates at the Cathedral. We celebrate Christ's giving light to the world through his resurrection from death, we hear proclaimed the story of our salvation through several scripture readings. The elect are baptised and (together with the candidates) are confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the first time. It is the most important and most joyous celebration in the whole Church year.
This is a 50-day period in which the newly-baptised (together with those newly-received into full communion with the Catholic Church) receive catechesis (instruction) about the sacraments and about entering fully into the life of the Church.
If you would like to know more about the RCIA, or if you are
interested in knowing more about the Catholic Church you can
write to Caroline Price(Clifton Cathedral RCIA Director) at:
Clifton Cathedral House, Clifton Park, Bristol, BS8 3BX, UK
telephone: +44 (0) 117 924 4100
fax: +44 (0) 117 924 4100