"For He has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of His will, according to His purpose which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Ephesians 1:9-10)
Adults wishing to become Catholic enter into a process called RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, which is an ancient practice of initiation in the Church. Its focus is on conversion. Adults entering into RCIA do not enter into a program, but a process; RCIA is a journey that typically begins in September and culminates in the reception of the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. This journey of faith is not traveled alone, but accompanied by others who are wanting to learn about the Catholic faith.
A new RCIA group forms every fall and could include unbaptized adults, as well as adults baptized into other Christian traditions but now desiring to be Catholic. Sometimes there are those who were baptized Catholic as children, but were not raised in the faith, and wish now to complete their initiation.
Each Catholic parish offers the RCIA process for interested persons. Several parishes in the Dearborn area collaborate in this effort with Sacred Heart and share clergy and staff to offer joint sessions as part of the learning process. Meeting places vary.
The RCIA also involves rituals, called rites, along the way which celebrate various stages in the candidate's faith journey. These rituals take place during Sunday liturgies and are celebrated in each individual participating parish, with the candidates who have joined the process through that parish. The Initiation Sacraments take place in each individual parish at the Easter Vigil.
This collaborative effort provides participants with an experience of our greater Catholic community as they meet with those from other parishes and on occasion experience the faith as offered through different presenters.
The group typically meets once a week in the evening from 7:00 until 9:00, beginning in September, through the celebration of Easter. To register for RCIA or for more information contact Susan Campbell, RCIA Coordinator, at
RCIA@shparish.org or call the Parish Office 313-278-5555.
The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops containes an informative article on Christian initiation. You will find it
here.
We also offer a special
Children's Catechumenate Program for children who are unbaptized and interested in becoming Catholic, joining the Church from another Christian denomination, or who were baptized Catholic but have not participated in religious education classes or sacrament preparation programs. Contact the Religious Education office for more information.