Six common RCIA questions about Easter Vigil

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7 thoughts on “Six common RCIA questions about Easter Vigil”

  1. Rick Richetti

    Thank you and God bless you for all you do. You have no idea how timely these questions being answered now help our RCIA team
    Because this year has had new challenges which of these questions most definitely address.
    Again thank you for all you do and God bless you all.
    Rick

  2. Stephanie Whitley

    Does the parish priest able to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on a candidate for full communion outside the Easter Vigil, or does he have to receive formal permission from the diocesan bishop?

    1. Hi Stephanie. For someone baptized in another tradition who wants to become Catholic, a priest would celebrate the Rite of Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church (RCIA 473). Although many parishes celebrate this rite at the Easter Vigil, the norm is actually to celebrate it at a Sunday Mass.

      In most dioceses, the bishop has delegated the authority to celebrate this rite to the priests of the diocese. The rite of reception includes the celebration of the sacrament of confirmation.

      You might be interested in reading this article: https://teaminitiation.com/2020/08/can-rcia-seekers-celebrate-their-sacraments-outside-of-the-easter-vigil/

      Thanks for your question.

  3. Why are the prayers for Easter Vigil in the RCIA Rite (ritual) worded differently in the Roman Missal (revised 2011 translation)? Is the RCIA ritual book out of date?

    1. Hi Brian,

      All the rites of the church for the English-speaking church are being retranslated. One of the first to be retranslated was the Roman Missal. One of the last will be the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. The new translation has been completed and approved by the US bishops. Now it has to be approved by Rome. The earliest, most optimistic estimate of when we might have a final copy in hand is probably late 2023. See this post for more details: https://teaminitiation.com/2020/01/is-a-new-rcia-ocia-around-the-corner/

  4. Why does the USCCB website say, “The Candidates may be received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil or at another Sunday during the year depending on pastoral circumstances and readiness of the Candidate.”
    https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/who-we-teach/christian-initiation-of-adults

    If there are no catechumens, do you still advise against bringing candidates in at Easter Vigil? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information online.

    1. Hi Faustina,

      I would refer you back to what I wrote in the original article above:

      • Why the discrepancy? It stems from the fact that we have different kinds of baptized candidates. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, that is, the official rite of the church for adult initiation, is only concerned with unbaptized people and those who were baptized as infants and received no further Christian formation (see RCIA 400).
         

        So when the RCIA says the Easter Vigil might be appropriate for baptized candidates to celebrate confirmation and eucharist, it is referring to those who made it to adulthood with no Christian formation. Those who were baptized in a tradition other than Roman Catholic and who have had some Christian formation would normally be received into full communion at a Sunday Mass in Ordinary Time (see RCIA 475 and National Statues for the Catechumenate 32).

      The USCCB site says essentially the same thing when it says “depending on pastoral circumstances.”

      I agree there is a lot of conflicting information online. That’s why it is best to look to the source document itself for guidance, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

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