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How to Become a Catholic
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Pillar of Fire
Pillar of Truth
Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth is packed with information about the Catholic Church and God's plan for us.
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Becoming Catholic is one of life’s most profound
and joyous experiences. Some are blessed enough to receive this great gift
while they are infants, and, over time, they recognize the enormous grace
that has been bestowed on them. Others enter the Catholic fold when they
are older children or adults. This tract examines the joyful process by
which one becomes a Catholic.
A person is brought into full communion with the
Catholic Church through reception of the three sacraments of Christian
initiation—baptism, confirmation, and the holy Eucharist—but the process
by which one becomes a Catholic can take different forms.
A person who is baptized in the Catholic Church
becomes a Catholic at that moment. One’s initiation is deepened by confirmation
and the Eucharist, but one becomes a Catholic at baptism. This is true
for children who are baptized Catholic (and receive the other two sacraments
later) and for adults who are baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist
at the same time.
Those who have been validly baptized outside the
Church become Catholics by making a profession of the Catholic faith and
being formally received into the Church. This is normally followed immediately
by confirmation and the Eucharist.
Before a person is ready to be received into the
Church, whether by baptism or by profession of faith, preparation is necessary.
The amount and form of this preparation depends on the individual’s circumstance.
The most basic division in the kind of preparation needed is between those
who are unbaptized and those who have already become Christian through
baptism in another church.
For adults and children who have reached the age
of reason (age seven), entrance into the Church is governed by the Rite
of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), sometimes called the Order of
Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA).
Preparation for the Unbaptized
Preparation for reception into the Church begins
with the inquiry stage, in which the unbaptized person begins to learn
about the Catholic faith and begins to decide whether to embrace it.
The first formal step to Catholicism begins with
the rite of reception into the order of catechumens, in which the
unbaptized express their desire and intention to become Christians. "Catechumen"
is a term the early Christians used to refer to those preparing to be baptized
and become Christians.
The period of the catechumenate varies depending
on how much the catechumen has learned and how ready he feels to take the
step of becoming a Christian. However, the catechumenate often lasts less
than a year.
The catechumenate’s purpose is to provide the catechumens
with a thorough background in Christian teaching. "A thoroughly comprehensive
catechesis on the truths of Catholic doctrine and moral life, aided by
approved catechetical texts, is to be provided during the period of the
catechumenate" (U.S. Conference of Bishops, National Statutes for the
Catechumenate, Nov. 11, 1986). The catechumenate also is intended to
give the catechumens the opportunity to reflect upon and become firm in
their desire to become Catholic, and to show that they are ready to take
this serious and joyful step (cf. Luke 14:27–33; 2 Pet. 2:20–22).
The second formal step is taken with the rite
of election, in which the catechumens’ names are written in a book
of those who will receive the sacraments of initiation. At the rite of
election, the catechumen again expresses the desire and intention to become
a Christian, and the Church judges that the catechumen is ready to take
this step. Normally, the rite of election occurs on the first Sunday of
Lent, the forty-day period of preparation for Easter.
After the rite of election, the candidates undergo
a period of more intense reflection, purification, and enlightenment, in
which they deepen their commitment to repentance and conversion. During
this period the catechumens, now known as the elect, participate in several
further rituals.
The three chief rituals, known as scrutinies,
are normally celebrated at Mass on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays
of Lent. The scrutinies are rites for self-searching and repentance. They
are meant to bring out the qualities of the catechumen’s soul, to heal
those qualities which are weak or sinful, and to strengthen those that
are positive and good.
During this period, the catechumens are formally
presented with the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, which they will
recite on the night they are initiated.
The initiation itself usually occurs on
the Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day. That evening a special
Mass is celebrated at which the catechumens are baptized, then given confirmation,
and finally receive the holy Eucharist. At this point the catechumens become
Catholics and are received into full communion with the Church.
Ideally the bishop oversees the Easter Vigil
service and confers confirmation upon the catechumens, but often—due to
large distances or numbers of catechumens—a local parish priest will perform
the rites.
The final state of Christian initiation is known
as mystagogy, in which the new Christians are strengthened in the
faith by further instruction and become more deeply rooted in the local
Catholic community. The period of mystagogy normally lasts throughout the
Easter season (the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost Sunday).
For the first year of their life as Christians,
those who have been received are known as neophytes or "new Christians."
Preparation for Christians
The means by which those who have already been
validly baptized become part of the Church differs considerably from that
of the unbaptized.
Because they have already been baptized, they are
already Christians; they are, therefore, not catechumens. Because of their
status as Christians, the Church is concerned that they not be confused
with those who are in the process of becoming Christians.
"Those who have already been baptized in another
church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so
designated. Their doctrinal and spiritual preparation for reception into
full Catholic communion should be determined according to the individual
case, that is, it should depend on the extent to which the baptized person
has led a Christian life within a community of faith and been appropriately
catechized to deepen his or her inner adherence to the Church" (NSC 30).
For those who were baptized but who have never
been instructed in the Christian faith or lived as Christians, it is appropriate
for them to receive much of the same instruction in the faith as catechumens,
but they are still not catechumens and are not to be referred to as such
(NSC 3). As a result, they are not to participate in the rites intended
for catechumens, such as the scrutinies. Even "[t]he rites of presentation
of the creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the book of the Gospels are not proper
except for those who have received no Christian instruction and formation"
(NSC 31).
For those who have been instructed in the Christian
faith and have lived as Christians, the situation is different. The U.S.
Conference of Bishops states, "Those baptized persons who have lived as
Christians and need only instruction in the Catholic tradition and a degree
of probation within the Catholic community should not be asked to undergo
a full program parallel to the catechumenate" (NSC 31). For this reason,
they should not share in the same, full RCIA programs that catechumens
do.
The timing of their reception into the Church also
is different. The U.S. Conference of Bishops states, "It is preferable
that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest
there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates
for baptism, possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament
of baptism celebrated in another church or ecclesial community . . . "
(NSC 33).
Rather than being received on Easter Vigil, "[t]he
reception of candidates into the communion of the Catholic Church should
ordinarily take place at the Sunday Eucharist of the parish community,
in such a way that it is understood that they are indeed Christian believers
who have already shared in the sacramental life of the Church and are now
welcomed into the Catholic Eucharistic community . . ." (NSC 32).
Christians coming into the Catholic Church must
discuss with their pastor and/or bishop the amount of instruction needed
and the time of their reception.
Peace with God
The sacrament of baptism removes all sins committed
prior to it, but since Christians have already been baptized, it is necessary
for them to confess mortal sins committed since baptism before receiving
confirmation and the Eucharist.
In some cases, this can be difficult due to a large
number of years between the Christian’s baptism and reception into the
Catholic Church. In such cases, the candidate should confess the mortal
sins he can remember by kind and, to the extent possible, indicate how
often such sins were committed. As always with the sacrament of reconciliation,
the absolution covers any mortal sins that could not be remembered, so
long as the recipient intended to repent of all mortal sins.
Christians coming into the Church should receive
the sacrament of reconciliation before their reception into the Church
(there is no established point for when they should do this) to ensure
that they are in a state of grace when they are received and confirmed.
Their formation in the faith should stress that frequent confession is
part of Catholic life: "The celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation
with candidates for reception into full communion is to be carried out
at a time prior to and distinct from the celebration of the rite of reception.
As part of the formation of such candidates, they should be encouraged
in the frequent celebration of this sacrament" (NSC 36).
The Christian fully enters the Church by profession
of faith and formal reception. For the profession of faith, the candidate
says, "I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes,
teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God."
The bishop or priest then formally receives the
Christian into the Church by saying, "[Name], the Lord receives you into
the Catholic Church. His loving kindness has led you here, so that in the
unity of the Holy Spirit you may have full communion with us in the faith
that you have professed in the presence of his family."
The bishop or priest then normally administers
the sacrament of confirmation and celebrates the holy Eucharist, giving
the new Catholic the Eucharist for the first time.
Reception in Special Cases
In some situations, there may be doubts whether
a person’s baptism was valid. All baptisms are assumed valid, regardless
of denomination, unless after serious investigation there is reason
to doubt that the candidate was baptized with water and the Trinitarian
formula (". . . in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit"), or that the minister or recipient of baptism did not intend it
to be an actual baptism.
If there are doubts about the validity of a person’s
baptism (or whether the person was baptized at all), then the candidate
will be given a conditional baptism (one with the form ". . . if you are
not already baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit").
"If conditional baptism . . . seems necessary,
this must be celebrated privately rather than at a public liturgical assembly
of the community and with only those limited rites which the diocesan bishop
determines. The reception into full communion should take place later at
the Sunday Eucharist of the community" (NSC 37).
Another special case concerns those who have been
baptized as Catholics but who were not brought up in the faith or who have
not received the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist. "Although
baptized adult Catholics who have never received catechetical instruction
or been admitted to the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist are not
catechumens, some elements of the usual catechumenal formation are appropriate
to their preparation for the sacraments, in accord with the norms of the
ritual, Preparation of Uncatechized Adults for Confirmation and Eucharist"
(NSC 25).
Waiting for the Day!
It can be a time of anxious longing while one waits
to experience the warm embrace of membership in the Church and to be immersed
into Catholic society. This time of waiting and reflection is necessary,
since becoming a Catholic is a momentous event. But waiting can be painful
as one longs for the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and the joys
of Catholic life—the security that being a faithful Catholic bestows. Yet
even before being received, those waiting to be fully incorporated already
have a real relationship with the Church.
For those who are already Christians, their baptism
itself forms a certain sacramental relationship with the Church (cf. Vatican
II, Unitatis Redintegratio 3; Catechism of the Catholic Church
1271). They are also joined to the Church by their intention to enter it,
as are the unbaptized who intend to do so: "Catechumens who, moved by the
Holy Spirit, desire with an explicit intention to be incorporated into
the Church are by that very intention joined to her. With love and solicitude
mother Church already embraces them as her own" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium
14:3; CCC 1249).
Thus, even before one is fully incorporated into
the Church, one can enjoy the status of being recognized by the Church
as one of her own, precious children.
NIHIL OBSTAT:
I have concluded that the materials
presented in this work are free of doctrinal or moral errors.
Bernadeane Carr, STL, Censor Librorum, August 10, 2004
IMPRIMATUR:
In accord with 1983 CIC 827
permission to publish this work is hereby granted.
+Robert H. Brom, Bishop of San Diego, August 10, 2004
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