I will make a point of checking out wikipedia. Another question though. How does the process go if you have already been babtized?** I was babtized** into the Lutheran Church when I was 17 (kinda funny the church I was babtized in is 2 blocks over from the parish I will be attending).
That’s a totally different story…
You will be a Candidate not a Catechumen.
A Christian, which you are by virtue of your valid Baptism, can be received into the Church at any time if they are participating in Mass on a regular basis, living a Christian lifestyle, and adhering to the Catholic teaching,
Once you have a basic understanding of what the Church believes and teaches then you can, and according to the Statutes should, be received into the Church by Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, after making a Confession, during
The Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into the full Communion of the Catholic Church where you would make a “Profession of Faith” . This reflects the honor placed on the dignity of Baptism which you have already received.
Those who have already been baptized in another Church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated. Their doctrinal and spiritual preparation for reception into full Catholic communion should be determined according to the individual case, that is, it should depend on the extent to which the baptized person has led a Christian life within a community of faith and been appropriately catechized to deepen his or her inner adherence to the Church (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 30)
The reception of candidates into the communion of the Catholic Church should ordinarily take place at the Sunday Eucharist of the parish community, in such a way that it is understood that they are indeed Christian believers who have already shared in the sacramental life of the Church and are now welcomed into the Catholic eucharistic community upon their profession of faith and confirmation, if they have not been confirmed, before receiving the eucharist. (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 32)
It is preferable that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates for baptism, possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament of baptism celebrated in another Church or ecclesial community, or any perceived triumphalism in the liturgical welcome into the Catholic eucharistic community. (“National Statutes for the Catechumenate,” 33)
As you can see the National Statutes for the Catechumenate as approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops prefers that Reception into the Church take place on a Sunday other than Easter. However, many parishes instead include the Baptized with the unbaptized for the Easter Vigil. I assume the Director of Religious Ed at the parish where you worship is already aware of the fact you are a validly Baptized Christian. She or he will let you know whether they follow the preference of the Statutes for having The Rite of Reception of Baptized Christians into the full Communion of the Catholic Church at a time when you are deemed ready, or prefer to defer it to the Easter Vigil, using the combined rite “The (Combined) Celebration at the Easter Vigil of the Sacraments of Initiation and of the Rite of Reception into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church.”
I was received into the Church during a weekday Mass, which is also totally acceptable. We had a married couple received into the Church in my parish last year during a daily Mass, and others received during Sunday Mass.
P.S. These are the National Statutes for the US. If you live outside the US they would have their own National Bishops directives.
