Sometimes a person has been raised in a family environment that did not include religious practices - often they have not been baptized in any Christian faith tradition. Occasionally a person has been baptized into the Catholic tradition, but has received no additional formation in their faith, so that in many respects, they are completely uncatechized - that is, uninstructed about God and Jesus and the beliefs and traditions of the Catholic Church. More commonly, men and women who have been raised in another faith tradition have married a Catholic and have raised their children in the Catholic faith. Over the years they have attended Mass with their families, celebrated the sacraments with their children, and in many respects are Catholic in all but name.

Regardless of their backgrounds, people are choosing, through prayer and discernment, to become Catholic. For these people, the Church has a process of formation geared to answer their questions and meet their needs. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) is based on the practices of the early Christian communities. RCIA is a process of education and spiritual formation for adults seeking to become members of the Catholic Church. The process is open to those who are unbaptized, those who were baptized into another faith tradition, and those who were baptized as Catholics but received no additional faith formation beyond baptism.

Any person interested in learning more about the RCIA formation process is encouraged to contact the office.