Nick Wagner is the cofounder and codirector of Team Initiation.
We recently asked folks what their experience is with baptized candidates in their formation processes. About 400 people responded, and here are the results: What is the current timeframe of your catechumenate process? Almost 45% of those who responded said they have a year-round process. I was happily surprised by that number. It could be […]
What’s happening with baptized RCIA candidates? A survey report
Philip Lomneth is a husband and a father who works as a Director of Formation at the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Rochester, MN. Since 2017, he has helped guide people through the Rites of Christian Initiation where they come to love the Lord with all their heart, their mind, their strength, and
Toward a year-round RCIA process—one thing at a time with small steps
When we have baptized candidates in the RCIA, we run into a lot of complications. Ironically, training unbaptized catechumens who have little or no Christian formation can seem simpler and easier. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are three things we can do to simplify the formation process for baptized candidates. The
Everybody into the pool — sorting the baptized candidates in the RCIA
Q: What is the history of the Easter Vigil being the moment for the elect celebrating initiation? A. This is a great question! I wish there were an equally great answer. The truth is, it’s complicated. There are really two questions here. When did the church start celebrating the Easter Vigil, and when did the Easter
Q&A: Why does the RCIA say that Easter Vigil is when we should baptize?
Rosie Rundell has been a Pastoral Associate for Seven Dolors Catholic Church in Manhattan, Kansas, for 21 years. She has been involved with RCIA ministry for over 30 years in four different parishes. She received her undergraduate degree from Benedictine University, Atchison, Kansas; a Masters degree in Pastoral Ministry and a certificate in Spiritual Direction
A year-round, apprenticeship model for RCIA gives me confidence that we are forming disciples
Q: Since the catechumens and candidates come into the church at the Easter Vigil, how do you handle someone who wants to join RCIA in, say, March, when the others in the RCIA process have been there for several months? A. This is an important question, and it gets to the heart of how parishes have
Q&A: What if someone wants to join the RCIA in March?
Evangelization and outreach Host a weekly or monthly online chat on “What Catholics Think about _______.” Fill in the blank with common questions about Catholics or else whatever is in the news right now. For example: What Catholics Think about the Bible What Catholics Think about Saints What Catholics Think about Climate Change What Catholics
50 ideas for RCIA teams during the pandemic
Q: How do we “see” the signs of readiness with children and youth for celebrating the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens? A. This is a great question. Thinking through the process of discernment for children and youth really challenges us to understand why discernment is important in the first place. In the
Q&A: How do RCIA teams discern the readiness of children for becoming catechumens?
Don Roberts has been the RCIA Team Leader for the Parish Community of St. Joseph in Belmont, NH, since 2012. In the 1980s, he and his late wife Pat introduced the process to their suburban Albany, NY, parish. After a 15-year stay in Virginia, they returned to RCIA in their retirement in New Hampshire. Don
We’re flexible: How our parish does year-round RCIA
Here at TeamRCIA, we spend a lot of time talking about the inadequacy adapting the catechumenate into a school model. Using a classroom paradigm is so common in parishes that many RCIA teams think it is the norm. However, if you read the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults carefully, you will find no reference
The school model is a chokehold on the RCIA
