Hello,
I’m 35 years old, a cradle catholic. I have recently returned to the church after loosing my faith when I was 15 years old . I was baptized, and received my first holy communion. However, I quit my RCIA classes as a teenager when I lost my faith. Now that I’ve returned home, I want to be confirmed. I’m just wondering what to expect for adults who want to be confirmed. I see all these videos on youtube of high school aged kids being confirmed. Will I be attending classes and be confirmed with a bunch of teenagers? Not that I have anything against teenagers; I just may feel a out of place. Also, do I need to find my own sponsor or will my parish provide me one? How long will I need to attend classes for? What will the classes be about?
Hello. I am not an expert, but my Uncle was just confirmed in the Church after not really practicing for a long time. He went through RCIA with his wife, who converted from Methodism. I sat in on one of his classes, so I can tell you little, but here I go:
RCIA is usually separate for adults, as they are coming from a different area of life. Do not expect to join teenagers in being Confirmed. The classes can vary in length to 1 a month year long (September-April) to 2x a month 4-5 months. It depends on the needs of the local parish community. Class material depends on this as well. We had sheets of papers handed out to us in my family’s RCIA meeting. We also had bibles.
About sponsors, why not ask your parish priest? He will probably know right off the bat. If not, the religious education department will know. I can’t tell you, because I never asked that of my uncle/aunt.
The classes will be about the basics that catechumens need to know: like the doctrines of the Faith (The Holy Trinity, the Blessed Eucharist, Blessed Virgin Mary, etc.), the sacraments, and the Holy Mass.
I attended RCIA last year and here is what mine was like:
It ran from September to the Easter Vigil in April. We met twice a week (after Mass on Sundays and on Wednesday nights for one hour.)
We did have a couple of teenagers in our class, but they were over 16 and the RCIA director felt that they’d do better in the adult classes. We had a small class (maybe ten people TOPS, and none of the teenagers ended up completing the RCIA class anyway). Don’t worry about who’s in class with you – prayerfully, they’ll all finish with you, but truthfully, there will be some who will not for one reason or another.
When I was looking for a sponsor, the RCIA director said that the parish would be more than happy to match me up with one if I could not find one (there are people who specifically request to be put on a sponsor list to be sponsors for those who cannot find one), but I had a friend sponsor me. If you choose someone, the RCIA director will let you know the guidelines beforehand and your sponsor must meet the criteria (must be baptized and confirmed practicing Catholic, if married they must have been married in the Catholic Church, etc.).
Our class topics ranged from Jesus and Mary to the Sacraments, the Holy Rosary, explaining the Creed line by line and everything in between. It’s amazing how much we managed to learn in such a short time! In every class, there was also ample time for discussion and questions.
I was just confirmed last Easter. I converted. I think it’s different at every church. Mine is a bit smaller than most in town. I didn’t know any Catholics at the time other than my husbands family and their English isn’t the best so one of the RCiA teachers sponsored me. There were 4. I was in class with a lady around my same age (28). It was just the two of us. We went once a week from sept 11 till 2 weeks after Easter. We were giving a guide to tell us what we would be doing every week.
I was nervous at first because I knew just about zero when it came to the faith but that’s what the classes are for! To learn. I questioned so much that Im sure they were glad when the classes were over.
Now it varies according to how much of your teaching you remember. For me…it had been a long time-I was the same as you…cradle Catholic…first communion but no confirmation. I found the RCIA format to be most helpful as I was a kid going through the CCD classes.
You can find your own sponsor but typically if you do not have one…they can find one for you.
Typically you would not be confirmed with the teenagers. Many blessings to you on your return!
If you are Baptized Catholic and you have already had your First Communion, you should not be in an RCIA class but an adult Confirmation class instead. That said, if you belong to a small parish with limited resources, you could get lumped into an RCIA class. Adult Confirmation classes in our diocese run about 3-4 months, where as RCIA can run about 9 months to one year.
My wife was a revert, very similar to you. Baptized and received First Holy Communion.
She actually had very little to do, our pastor at the time said that RCIA was not appropriate, as she was already Catholic.
He talked to her for a bit to verify that she had a true desire to be fully initiated in the Church, and then told her to show up at the next time Confirmations were held in our parish.
10 years ago I joined the RCC. I was baptised and raised dutch calvinist - religious education and school my whole life. In our class those not- baptiased, those not having first communion and those not confirmed were all in the same RCIA class. Even if you were raised and baptised catholic if you were away from the church for a while you probably do need the basics reviewed and taught all over again. At least that was my experience - unless you are Dr Scott Hahn and were contemplating joing the church.
I have become good friends with some of the instructors. I now teach CCD for the DRE who was one of my RCIA instructors.
Correct me if I’m wrong but you attend a larger parish…no?
I think it will depend on the resources of your parish…and also how much you already know. In the case of your wife…well…she had you as a resource.
Some of us had not been to anything more then CCD when we were little…and need to learn it somewhere…so in a smaller parish with no adult confirmation class and/or no full time DRE…and RCIA class might be the wiser option.:shrug:
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