RCIA question

[BigMike]

I am a 32year old man, I was told that I was baptised when I was younger (alot younger) but since my mother has passed I do not have any record. I know it was in Albaqueque (sp) New Mexico but I have no idea of the parish. I am currently attending RCIA classes to start / complete my sacraments and the according to the timeline for the classes, my baptism will happen in December. Will I have to do this again since I have no record of my original baptism? If so how does the church handle an adult baptism? Will it be done at mass or will it be a private ceremony?

Also, I attended my first ACTS retreat a month ago, during the retreat I felt a need to go to confession so I did. However I have never been to confession before. Was I wrong in doing so? My daughter goes to Catholic school and when she did her first confession there were certain “rules” because it was her first.

Also, my wife and I were married 4 years ago (this Thursday 11/13) but we were married by a Christian Pastor. My wife was (and still is) Catholic and at the time I was not. So instead of just going down to the court house we attended a few councilling sessions and the Pastor gave us his blessing and married my wife and I. (we were married in a Catholic Church, by a Christian Pastor) Is my marriage recognized by the Catholic Church?
Can my wife and I renew our vows in the Catholic Church once I am done with my Sacraments?

I have many more questions but I will start with these. Any advice or answers will be greatly appreciated.

YBIC,
Mike DeAngelis

 

[puzzleannie]

hi and welcome home!
you need to make an appointment with your pastor to discuss your individual situation and get good answers and guidance before or soon after you being the process to complete your Christian initiation.

It may be possible to find the record of your baptism, or to find witnesses who were there and can attest. your pastor will know, and how to proceed if no evidence is forthcoming (conditional baptism, in private, before Easter).

unclear about your marriage from your terminology, explain to your pastor, he will help you supply what is lacking, but it sounds as if you are already validly married, he will be able to tell you.

yes anyone who is baptized can have access to confession, you are fine. it will also be covered during your preparation: what is a sin, how to prepare, form for confession etc. so you will get answers to questions about that sacrament in due course, but don’t stay away if you feel the need for confession before then.

you do need some preparation before first communion so you understand what, or rather Who, you are receiving.

you will get a lot of info, some conflicting, on a thread like this, so please see your pastor, or the person he designates, for this discussion at the earliest opportunity

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I am a 32year old man, I was told that I was baptised when I was younger (alot younger) but since my mother has passed I do not have any record. I know it was in Albaqueque (sp) New Mexico but I have no idea of the parish.

No, brother or sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents? Any idea your address in NM? You might be able ti narrow it down to a few parishes. You can also contact the diocese. See your Pastor.

I am currently attending RCIA classes to start / complete my sacraments and the according to the timeline for the classes, my baptism will happen in December. Will I have to do this again since I have no record of my original baptism? If so how does the church handle an adult baptism? Will it be done at mass or will it be a private ceremony?

It sounds to me like you are still in the INQUIRY phase since your Baptism has not yet been establiahed. It’s unlikely your Baptism will be in December, since you may not need to be Baptized.

Adult Baptisms should take place at the Easter Vigil, after one full year of Catechetical instruction in the Catechumenate.

Also, I attended my first ACTS retreat a month ago, during the retreat I felt a need to go to confession so I did. However I have never been to confession before. Was I wrong in doing so? My daughter goes to Catholic school and when she did her first confession there were certain “rules” because it was her first.

If you are validly Baptized, you could have received the Sacrament of Reconciliation validly. If you are not Baptized you cannot receive any other Sacraments.

Also, my wife and I were married 4 years ago (this Thursday 11/13) but we were married by a Christian Pastor. My wife was (and still is) Catholic and at the time I was not. So instead of just going down to the court house we attended a few councilling sessions and the Pastor gave us his blessing and married my wife and I. (we were married in a Catholic Church, by a Christian Pastor) Is my marriage recognized by the Catholic Church?
Can my wife and I renew our vows in the Catholic Church once I am done with my Sacraments?

I also don’t understand the terms. Generally a Catholic Church will not allow a marriage to take place in the church if another “Christian Pastor” is officiating? Are you saying you were Married in a Catholic Chruch, with a Catholic Priest?

 

[BigMike]

I was married at the mission Concepcion in San Antonio which is a Catholic Church, However because it is a Historical site there is a loop hole.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Albuquerque is in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Their web site is at archdiocesesantafe.org/

Contact them and they may be able to help you find your baptismal record. I recently had someone start Inquiry who had been baptized somewhere in the Denver area but he didn’t know which parish and had no one he could ask. He contacted the Denver Archdiocese and they were able to find his baptismal parish within a day. I don’t know that all dioceses are that efficient, but they should be able to help.

 

[mercygate]

I am a 32year old man, I was told that I was baptised when I was younger (alot younger) but since my mother has passed I do not have any record. I know it was in Albaqueque (sp) New Mexico but I have no idea of the parish. I am currently attending RCIA classes to start / complete my sacraments and the according to the timeline for the classes, my baptism will happen in December. Will I have to do this again since I have no record of my original baptism? If so how does the church handle an adult baptism? Will it be done at mass or will it be a private ceremony?

Also, I attended my first ACTS retreat a month ago, during the retreat I felt a need to go to confession so I did. However I have never been to confession before. Was I wrong in doing so? My daughter goes to Catholic school and when she did her first confession there were certain “rules” because it was her first.

Also, my wife and I were married 4 years ago (this Thursday 11/13) but we were married by a Christian Pastor. My wife was (and still is) Catholic and at the time I was not. So instead of just going down to the court house we attended a few councilling sessions and the Pastor gave us his blessing and married my wife and I. (we were married in a Catholic Church, by a Christian Pastor) Is my marriage recognized by the Catholic Church?
Can my wife and I renew our vows in the Catholic Church once I am done with my Sacraments?

I have many more questions but I will start with these. Any advice or answers will be greatly appreciated.

YBIC,
Mike DeAngelis

Mike, all these questions can be answered by your pastor. Go to him as soon as you can.

No, it wasn’t “wrong” to go to confession. The desire for confession is a very great gift of the Holy Spirit. It would have been a good idea to tell the priest that you are not yet Catholic, but as a baptized Christian with a desire for the sacrament, you did a “good and holy thing.” The canonical ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ is the priest’s worry. It’s not like you were a Satan-worshipper coming to receive Communion so you could desecrate it, now is it?

Welcome Home! :grouphug:

As for your baptism, if no records can be obtained, then the worst case scenario is for you to be baptized “conditionally.” It would be a sacrilege to repeat the sacrament but it can be done using the words, “If you are not already baptized, I baptize you in the Name . . . .”

 

[puzzleannie]

I was married at the mission Concepcion in San Antonio which is a Catholic Church, However because it is a Historical site there is a loop hole.

it is my understanding this is still an established parish, but if it no longer functions as a parish, the records will have been moved to another parish (my guess would be one of the other missions, since one is still a regular parish), or to the diocesan office. Suggest contact with the diocesan office on sacraments and sacramental records for their help. Your own parish secretary should be able to help you with this.

In general sacraaments should be celebated only in a parish church, but the other possibility, is that a church which is a shrine, basilica, or historical site, may still be used for baptisms, weddings, communions, etc, but since it is not a regular parish, the sacramental record is kept at the home parish of the family.

For instance, the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in this diocese is the largest church in the diocese and a pilgrimage site, but not a regular parish. However the confirmation of adults is done here on Pentecost by the bishop for the whole diocese, yet the record of the sacrament is kept in the home parish of each candidate (and of course sent to their baptismal parish as well). So going to San Juan will not help a candidate find his records, he would need to go to his home parish or baptismal parish.