Have you ever thought about becoming Catholic? Have you been baptized and wish to receive First Communion and Confirmation?

This website offers some basic information on what we, as Catholics, believe. But for those of you who may be considering becoming a Christian or professing one's faith as a Catholic, the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults, or OCIA, may be for you.

OCIA is the Church's ritual process for calling adults to conversion and preparing them for Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. The process involves five stages:

1. A period of inquiry when inquirers learn answers to basic questions about the Church, its beliefs and practices;
2. A period of catechumenate, when the inquirers experience the Church as a community with the help of a sponsor;
3. A period of purification and enlightenment, when those preparing for initiation into the Church experience their final preparation for the Sacraments;
4. The actual reception of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist;
5. A period of mystagogy, or 50 days of unfolding the Easter mystery and considering how to share in the mission of the Church.

Catholic adults who are active in the practice of their faith but who, for whatever reason, have never received the Sacrament of Confirmation are encouraged to do so.  In this Archdiocese the normal pastoral practice is to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with adults at special Masses throughout the Archdiocese on two occasions: Pentecost Sunday, and early January at the Baptism of the Lord, or Epiphany feasts.

At the direction of Cardinal DiNardo, the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis has been working to renew the process of preparation of adults for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

A new process was created in collaboration with pastors, catechetical leaders, Office of Worship, and others. In years past, an announcement was made in the Texas Catholic Herald regarding the location and contact information of parishes conducting formation for the Sacrament of Confirmation for Adults. 

Every year, the announcement in the Herald will instead direct potential Confirmation candidates to contact their home parishes. If your parish is conducting formation sessions for Confirmation of Adults, the process remains the same. If your parish does not plan to conduct formation sessions for Confirmation of Adults, the process will consist of welcoming potential candidates and conducting a discernment interview with them to assess readiness to enter sacramental preparation, before referring them to a nearby parish for sacramental preparation. This will help prevent candidates with impediments (baptized non-catholic, marriage issues, etc.) from entering sacramental preparation. If the candidate is deemed ready to enter the formation process after the discernment interview takes place, the candidate may be referred to a nearby parish  with a letter from the pastor and a recent copy of his/her baptismal certificate. Thank you for your cooperation in facilitating an encounter with Christ for these adult candidates as they prepare to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.

If this is something you may be interested in timelines and class schedules are flexible so please get in contact with the Faith Formation office for more information!

(713)695-0631
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