Becoming Catholic

• Do you have questions about the Catholic faith and are not Catholic?
• Are you a Christian who wants to learn more about Catholicism?
• Has God been calling you to consider the Catholic Christian faith?
• Are you an adult Catholic who has never received First Holy Communion?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions... please JOIN US!

Call our parish offices and we will be happy to meet with you. Contact Father Dan at [email protected] or call (978) 774-1958

Please note that you need not have decided to become Catholic to begin the first part of the RCIA called the Inquiry Classes. 

Becoming Catholic

A person is brought into full communion with the Catholic Church through reception of three sacraments of Christian initiation - baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist - but the process by which one becomes Catholic can take different forms. 

A person who is baptized in the Catholic Church becomes a Catholic at that moment. One's initiation is deepened by confirmation and the Eucharist, but one becomes a Catholic at baptism. This is true for children who are baptized Catholic (and receive the other two sacraments later) and for adults who are baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist at the same time. 

Those who have been validly baptized outside the Church become Catholics by making a profession of the Catholic faith and being formally received into the Church. This is normally followed immediately by the sacrament of confirmation and the Eucharist. 

Before a person is ready to be received into the Church, whether by baptism or by profession of faith, preparation is necessary. The amount and form of this preparation depends on the individual's circumstance. The most basic division in the kind of preparation is needed is between those who are unbaptized and those who have already become Christian through baptism in another Church. 

For adults and children who have reached the age of reason (age seven), entrance into the Church is governed by the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). 

What is the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA)?

The Rite of Christian Initiation is based on the principle that the process of conversion proceeds gradually, in stages. Progress from one stage to the next is marked by a liturgical celebration in the midst of the parish community. The experience and needs of each individual differs, and so the length of time may vary for each person, yet there are certain similarities in the process everyone will experience.