RCIA timing question

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SammyJankis90

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Hello all,
Like many on this forum I was raised by devout Protestant parents, was baptized when I was 9, and have lived my whole life under this system of doctrine. For the past few weeks and months, though, I’ve finally started to give the Catholic Church the consideration it is due. While I’ve not yet made a final decision about crossing the Tiber, I’m becoming increasingly confident that this is where the Spirit is leading me.

My current predicament, though, is not one of doctrine but of timing and geography. I’m a college student, home in Texas for the summer. I’ll be here through the end of August (or sometime thereabouts), at which point I’ll be heading back to Pennsylvania for the start of the fall semester. Should I take the plunge across the Tiber, would it be more efficient just to wait until I’m in PA to begin RCIA, or should I start now? Can it be finished by the end of the summer? I already know I’ll be out of town for nearly two weeks in July. Any advice anyone could offer on this would be much appreciated. 🙂
 
RCIA is a journey that usually begins in the fall & concludes at Easter or may meet until Pentecost. My husband & I just finished RCIA and our group ended this last week.

It is really a neat process that begins in the period of evagelization and moves through different stages of catechumens/election. I don’t have the exact order in front of me.

The highlight is the Easter Vigil where we were confirmed & received Eucharist for the first time (we already had a Trinitarian baptism,so were not re-baptized).

At first the length of the process seemed daunting, but after researching the rich history of the process & having the opportunity to really have a time of formation, I realized the wisdom of it.

My advice would be to visit with the priest in your hometown by making an appointment & then asking how you can coordinate with the church at your school. One of the RCIA team members for our class attended RCIA at college & had a great experience.

Welcome to the journey 👍
 
RCIA takes as long as it takes, if you have a good grounding in Christian doctrine and scripture it can take less time, to learn Catholic teaching and practice that differ from what you have known, especially as regards to grace and the sacraments and worship. Reception into the Church is through profession of faith, Confirmation and first communion (preceded at some point by first confession) so you have to be prepared for all of these. The timing is whenever the bishop of your diocese sets for confirmation, usually Easter but it can be at other times.

sadly, most parishes don’t have formal meetings in the summer, but you could certainly call your pastor in Texas, of the closest Catholic parish, and ask him to talk to you and take his suggestion on how to proceed.

if you college has a Catholic student center (sometimes called Newman Center, or Catholic Campus Ministry) they might have RCIA that meets right on campus, or you can just find out the parish closest to where you reside on campus. trouble is beginning of thes school year is very busy and you don’t want to get shut out of a new class, so do follow up when you get there.

check out the student life contact on your college website and see if there is a link or listing for a Catholic Campus ministry (again, they may not meet or staff an office during the summer).

Our local UT branch has RCIA classes on campus through the Newman Center, and candidates are received with sacraments at Easter either in their home parish or here (we are closest to campus and we work with their campus ministry).
 
I agree that the place to start is with the pastor of the Catholic church nearest (physically) to your home. As the other two folks have noted - you can then work with him to figure out what kind of path to take.

One item of note is that RCIA is not only about learning the Church’s teachings - it is about becoming part of the Church family/community/parish. You will see a rather long thread in this same forum about why is it so difficult to become Catholic. The original poster in that thread changed communities/parishes and had to basically start over - discouraging if you are in a hurry.

So you are sort of split between your college community and the community in Texas. You’ll need to work with both, but it will be worth it!

God bless you on your journey - and remember CAF is here to help if you need it!
 
It’s a difficult place to be. (I know, 'cause I’m right there with you!) I’d try talking to the priest at home first -and SOON-, to make him aware of your situation. He might be able to arrange a “rush” class over the summer, with your First Communion/Confirmation at the Vigil. Try other parishes at home, too, if yours can’t help at this time. It’s easier to keep it in-city.

If you find that you can’t make it work this summer, then you’ll have to work with the priest and DRE at two parishes. Make sure, talking to these four people, that you are very clear about your situation and where you want to complete your initiation. Make sure that whichever priest will be doing your First Communion/Confirmation sees the RCIA curriculum and is OK with it- he might want to have extra meetings before the Vigil to fill any gaps he sees. Worst case, they may refuse to coordinate with each other at all.

Sorry to be a downer. 😦 This can’t be an uncommon situation, but there seems to be no policy in place and there are some folks that aren’t always as understanding as they might be. My process definitely has me praying for a standardized program. Good luck, keep us posted!
 
Thanks all for the advice! I’ll probably be speaking with my local priest pretty soon.
 
We had some people in our RCIA group who were moving in the middle of the year so they were able to go through part of the process with us and finish the rest when they got to their new parish. Most groups seem to be pretty accommodating.

Good luck! It is a wonderful process!

Peace,
 
My only advice is that if you go to an RCIA program that looks only so-so, don’t stay there unless you have no other option. Ideally, since you’re already a Christian, if you feel you know enough about the Church and have gone to Mass for a while, you can request private instruction and be confirmed when you’re ready, as opposed to an automatic limit that the RCIA class will likely impose.

Just my :twocents:
 
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