Becoming Catholic (RCIA)

Adults who wish to become members of the Catholic Church

Ecum CandlesAdults who seek to be baptised are welcomed into a parish process called “The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)”. This involves a series of weekly presentations on the various aspects of Catholic faith and life, generally through the second half of the year, commencing June/July, through to December. A break is then taken and in early February the process focuses more on a spiritual preparation during the Season of Lent. The culmination of this preparation is the celebration of Baptism, Confirmation and the first sharing in Holy Communion at the Mass of the Easter Vigil, which is the principal Easter celebration in the Catholic Church, on Holy Saturday evening.

For those who are already baptised in another Christian denomination, but who now seek to become a member of the Catholic community, there is a parallel process of preparation (involving the same series of talks) which culminates in reception into the Catholic Church along with the celebration of Confirmation and the first sharing of Holy Communion at the Mass of the Easter Vigil.

The preparation programme in the RCIA process is a collaborative ministry of our two communities with the team leading the process made up of members from both Epping and Carlingford, and the weekly meetings alternating between venues in the two communities.

For further information about RCIA, please contact the Parish Office.