RCIA Has Become OCIA

By Anne Koester, OCIA Coordinator

When someone comes to Holy Trinity wanting to explore the possibility of becoming Catholic, whether they are not yet baptized or are baptized in another Christian community, we encourage them to begin the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults).

Or for older children and youth – generally around age 7 and up – RCIA Adapted for Children.

“RCIA” is one of the best-known acronyms in the Catholic Church and beyond (i.e., Christians from other faith communities and scholars from various traditions know this acronym).

Such has been the case for decades.

A little background – In 1972, the Church issued the first Latin edition of the Ordo initiationis christianae adultorum.

The first English translation came out in 1974.

The 1974 text was eventually retranslated and reorganized, and rites were added for baptized candidates for full communion.

This gave us the 1988 text – the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

The time came several years ago for a new translation of the text, and this work has recently been completed.

The title (translated from the Latin) is now the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, which more closely matches the Latin original and better reflects that an “Order” is a collection of “Rites.”

You will also see the use of a new acronym – OCIA.

The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults has been approved for first use on December 1, 2024 (the First Sunday of Advent) with mandatory use on March 5, 2025 (Ash Wednesday).

The newly translated order does not change the structure of the process nor the approach we take at Holy Trinity with accompanying our inquirers, catechumens (those seeking baptism), baptized candidates (those baptized in another Christian community), and baptized Catholics looking to complete initiation sacraments.

For more information, please visit trinity.org/become-catholic/ or contact the OCIA Coordinator Anne Koester (akoester@trinity.org).