Help us get to know you!
- Are you interested in learning more about the Catholic Church?
- Are you considering joining the Church?
- Are you seeking baptism?
- Have you been baptized as a Catholic or in another Christian tradition and want to receive the Sacraments of Eucharist and Confirmation?
- Are you a Catholic returning to active membership in the Church?
If you answered Yes to any of the above, then our Becoming Catholic process at St Francis de Sales is for you!
We’d love to learn more about you and how we can help you on your faith journey. Complete our inquiry form and we’ll be in touch!
Becoming Catholic Inquiry Form
About Becoming Catholic/OCIA
Becoming Catholic, (also known as The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults/OCIA) is the Catholic Church’s way of helping people understand the Church, welcoming new members and supporting Catholics in their return.
OCIA is comprised of several dimensions. You will learn about the Church, its history, Mass, Sacraments, Creed, traditions and so much more. You will grow in knowledge and understanding of the Church Jesus Christ created for your spiritual journey.
OCIA will help you grow spiritually through the Catholic prayer life, sacramental life, community life and shared spiritual life. Prayer, discernment, small group discussions and retreat experiences will help you integrate the presentation material and discern your spiritual journey.
With our weekly sessions, you will have a solid foundation to begin or improve your spiritual journey that God is calling you to. You will want to continue learning and growing in Christ throughout your life long after you have finished your OCIA experience.
Schedule
At St Francis de Sales, we meet year-round on Sunday mornings between the morning masses (9:30-10:45am) in the Junior High School Science Lab (2nd Floor of the Lamy Center).
Unable to join us in person? We also offer a virtual option via Zoom. Contact us for details.
How do I learn more?
We’d love to learn more about you and how we can help you on your faith journey. Complete our inquiry form and we’ll be in touch!
Commitment
By joining this process, we ask that you make a two-fold commitment: to the process itself and to having an open heart and mind.
Throughout the process, there are weekly classes, various rites (Church services and celebrations), retreats and socials, service opportunities and weekly Mass attendance.
The Process
Inquiry
During this time, you are encouraged to ask any questions about Christianity and receive truthful, life-sharing answers from Catholic Christians. The informal discussions during the inquiry period help you link your personal life stories to the Good News as witness and lived by the Roman Catholic community.
If you desire to continue the conversion journey within our faith community, you are invited to experience the first major rite of the OCIA process, the Rite of Acceptance. The Order of Acceptance marks both your acceptance of the call of Christ and the communities welcoming acceptance of you, typically at Sunday Mass, with a prayer of strengthening for the journey, symbolic of both the joys and the costs of Christian discipleship.
Catechumenate
The word catechumenate means “time of serious study”. The length of the catechumenate varies according to the individual need. You do not travel alone during this period. Sponsors (practicing Catholics) act as spiritual companions, providing personal support, sharing experience of Christian life, and helping you feel “at home” with Catholic religious practice.
The catechumenate period ends when you are ready to begin the third period of the journey, the period of purification and enlightenment, which coincides with Lent (a forty day “retreat”) each year. Here we celebrate the second major rite of the RCIA process, the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion.
Purification and Enlightenment
This is a time of final preparation for initiation. Joining with the whole church as she enters the Lenten Season, this period is one of prayer, fasting, and reflection, a forty day “retreat” for the entire Church.
Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation
You are initiated through the third and consummating rite of the OCIA process, the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday Night.
On that night, when light drives out darkness, joyful sounds fill the silence, and we proclaim and renew our resurrection hope as you culminate your long journey to initiation.
If you have not been baptized, this is the night you are born again in the waters of Baptism – then, along with those who are already baptized, you are sealed with the oil of Confirmation and share the bread and wine of the Eucharist as full members of the Roman Catholic community.
Mystagogia
Your Initiation begins the fourth period of the OCIA journey, the Mystagogia, which means “living the mysteries”. It is the beginning of a pilgrimage of lifelong continuous conversion as Disciples of the Lord.
Will I be a Catechumen or a Candidate?
If you have been baptized with water, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” then you have been baptized as a Christian and will be considered as a Candidate. Otherwise, all unbaptized persons will be considered as a Catechumen.
What personal information must I provide?
Along the process, we will need to completely understand your marital history (if applicable), so we can determine if there is a need for an annulment. In addition, we will need your religious background information and a copy of your baptismal record or certificate, if it exists.
Finally, we will ask you questions about you: who you are, where you are from, your interests, what brought you here. These help us get to know you so we can truly help you through this process.
Where can I obtain my baptismal record or certificate?
Please call the church where you were baptized, as nearly all churches archive their baptismal records. If the church does not exist anymore, or the record/certificate is irretrievable, then a copy of documentation of your baptism (i.e., a program from the baptism, pictures, a page from a family bible that shows the date and church of the baptism) will suffice.
If truly nothing exists, then a letter from a witness detailing the event will normally be accepted.
Resources
- The Bible – The New American Bible Revised Edition
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - https://www.usccb.org/
- Formed https://formed.org/
- Our beliefs https://stfrancisparish.net/about/our-beliefs
- The Catholic Mass explained https://youtu.be/2R-Q5CWRUAQ
Meet our Formation Team
David Clay
David is originally from Columbus and grew up in an evangelical church. He served in the United States Air Force from 2004-2010 and deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2016 his family moved to Newark and soon found their faith was being challenged. Thanks to the careful guidance, and faithful prayers of their neighbor, the Clay Family joined OCIA at St. Francis de Sales in the fall of 2018, and they were welcomed fully into the church at the 2019 Easter Vigil. Today, David enjoys sharing his experience with others interested in the Catholic faith while deepening his understanding of Catholic history and theology. He works for the Defense Logistics Agency and, together with his wife, stays busy homeschooling their children in the Catholic tradition. In their spare time, the family enjoys hiking, camping and traveling the world as much as possible.
Kimberly (Kovreg) Sherman
Kimberly lives in Newark with her husband Brent and their 3 children. She currently helps coordinate the Called and Gifted program within our Diocese through the Siena Institute, and you might recognize her as one of our Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers.
David and Kimberly will be working in tandem as they take this journey with others as they come to know and love Christ and our faith as much as they do!
