Pre RCIA Catholic Converts

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Alightforalltosee

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How did people become Catholic before RCIA? Does anyone know a history of the processes?
Thanks!
 
I came into the church in 1987 but instead of RCIA I received private instruction from a Franciscan priest.
 
Alightforalltosee said:
How did people become Catholic before RCIA?
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RCIA is an American invention. I was accepted into the Church last year, after a year of discussions of the Catechism (we used the YouCat for simplicity) with the Parish Priest. We’re a small parish, so we do like so. In the capital of Copenhagen they have classes similar to RCIA.
 
TheMortenBay said:
RCIA is an American invention. I was accepted into the Church last year, after a year of discussions of the Catechism (we used the YouCat for simplicity) with the Parish Priest. We’re a small parish, so we do like so. In the capital of Copenhagen they have classes similar to RCIA.
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I think you will find it came from the Vatican. Once an accepted English translation was done it was introduced in the US and later the US Bishops made it mandatory. I can find nowhere that it was an American invention.
 
Actually, potential converts here in Lebanon have to attend classes in the faith too. Obviously we don’t call them RCIA (we call them cours) but it’s the same concept. Not to be contradictory, but I don’t know where you got the impression that they’re a distinctly American phenomenon.
 
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Salibi said:
Not to be contradictory, but I don’t know where you got the impression that they’re a distinctly American phenomenon.
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I didn’t comment to be contradictory, either. It just turned out I was wrong. I was simply under the impression that RCIA was an American concept because of the name and because I’ve never heard of it as a certain thing outside of English language sources (which to be fair is most of what I read anyway).
I was never arguing that there weren’t Catholic convert classes elsewhere.
 
The problem is that in the US we typically say RCIA for the classes when properly it’s the process - whether you enter the Church via group or private instruction, RCIA stands for (literally) the Rites by which one becomes Christian.
 
They called up a priest, said they wanted to be Catholic, and the priest would instruct them usually for a couple months (Or longer if they needed it), then they were received into the Church. Sometimes the priest could instruct a few people at once if he had several wanting to join.
 
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Alightforalltosee said:
How did people become Catholic before RCIA? Does anyone know a history of the processes?
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RCIA was the process at the beginning of the Church. The Catechumenate is ancient in its origin.

After most of the known world was Christian from birth, the Catechumenate fell into disuse because adult converts were rare. In the age of exploration and missions, adult converts became more expansive again-- and priests were plentiful and gave private instruction or group instruction and then initiated the converts.

The Church decided to restore and formalize rites of the catchumenate.
 
Salibi said:
Actually, potential converts here in Lebanon have to attend classes in the faith too.
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Catechesis is not RCIA, although RCIA contains catechesis.

The Maronite Rite may not use the Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults.
Salibi said:
Obviously we don’t call them RCIA (we call them cours ) but it’s the same concept.
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Well, not really . Because RCIA is not classes. The RCIA is a group of rites of initiation into the Church.
 
I joined the Church in 1975. I had a few talks with the parish priest. When he thought I was ready, he received me into the Church during a weekday mass. I was confirmed by the bishop in the regularly scheduled ceremony a few months later.
 
Acts chapter 9 tells us how the very early Church received converts.
 
I just started attending a class last week for practicing Catholics who haven’t been confirmed. In about 12 weeks, I’m going to be confirmed into the Church! I’m a former protestant mostly from a church of Christ background. It seems like RCIA is more for those that don’t have an extensive background in Christianity and haven’t been baptized. Not trying to generalize too much so hopefully my brief summation doesn’t offend.
 
RCIAGraduate said:
Might I ask how the Church in Denmark is doing?
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Certainly. We have a small increase in converts and a high increase from Eastern Europe.
In 2005 we had and estimated 40,000 Catholics, today it’s estimated 46,000; still less than 1% of the total population. Our Bishop is fairly conservative, but very permissive with the clergy we have in the parishes.
 
Are conversions growing or at least persisting (including many from the Lutherans, could you see a Lutheran Ordinate coming in the future or not too soon)? Do you foresee a bright future for the Danish Church (and that of all Scandinavia/Nordic Nations)? I ask this variation of the question frequently (Do you have hope for the church?) so it gets annoying, but could you see this becoming the future for many areas where the Church has declined and receded? Sorry for putting all this on you. Peace and a good weekend to you!
 
This is of course correct. However, some of us were received into the Church without going through the rites except for the very last one. O understand that the full RCIA programme includes stages such as the Rite of Election, the Scrutinies, the Dismissal of the Catechumens, etc. I didn’t do any of that.
 
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