Understanding the New OCIA

The Institute for Catholic Formation is offering a workshop on Saturday, August 24, 2024 from 9:00 am – 2:00 pm at Queen of All Saints Hall at the Catholic Center on: “Understanding the New OCIA: the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.” Pastors, parish priests, parish catechetical leaders, and volunteers in current parish RCIA programs are all warmly invited to attend.

On May 7, 2024 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the promulgation of new National Statutes for the Christian Initiation of Adults. As per canon 788 §3 of the Code of Canon Law, these statues are binding as national policy within the United States for certain protocols pertaining to the catechumenate and the process of initiating baptized non-Catholics into full communion with the Catholic Church.

The new National Statutes for Christian Initiation of Adults will take effect on the first Sunday of Advent, December 1, 2024; at which point they will replace the previous National Statutes for the Catechumenate which have been in force since 1986.

The 2024 National Statutes have been promulgated in anticipation of the USCCB’s new translation of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)—now called the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA)—which is awaiting final approval from Rome and is expected to be in use within the next year.

The “Understanding OCIA” workshop will present and explain these new norms in a user-friendly way, while refreshing our understanding of the essential elements of Catholic initiation which were present in the previous ritual and still remain in effect. There will also be time provided for questions and answers.

Register for this workshop: