{"id":161,"date":"2022-04-21T17:15:59","date_gmt":"2022-04-21T17:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marymetamora.diocesanweb.org\/church\/?page_id=161"},"modified":"2025-07-28T16:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:39:08","slug":"rcia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/faith-formation\/rcia\/","title":{"rendered":"OCIA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">\u201cOrder of Christian Initiation of Adults\u201d<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The OCIA, which stands for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, is a process through which non-baptized men and women enter the Catholic Church. It includes several stages marked by study, prayer and rites at Mass. Participants in the OCIA are known as catechumens. They undergo a process of conversion as they study the Gospel, profess faith in Jesus and the Catholic Church, and receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Eucharist. The OCIA process follows the ancient practice of the church and was restored by the Second Vatican Council as the normal way adults prepare for baptism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Someone&nbsp;<em>baptized in a Christian church<\/em>&nbsp;may now wish to be a Catholic. A group similar to the Catechumenate receives instruction, guidance, and support. Reception into the church usually also takes place at the Easter Vigil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baptized Catholics frequently discover they have yet to \u201cbecome Catholic\u201d: some who missed essential religious formation may now be eager to continue the growth that all Catholics should experience. Throughout the year, the parish offers series and sessions for such adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OCIA is also offered for children of the age of reason and older but not yet adults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Adults interested in learning more about the Catholic faith are invited to contact the parish office at 309-367-4407.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Classes will begin in September.<\/em><\/strong>  Please contact Fr. Kipfer at the rectory office or visit with him after Mass and he will happily set up a time to visit with you about your interest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/aaron-burden-307060-unsplash-1500x1125.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cOrder of Christian Initiation of Adults\u201d The OCIA, which stands for Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, is a process through which non-baptized men and women enter the Catholic Church. It includes several stages marked by study, prayer and rites at Mass. Participants in the OCIA are known as catechumens.\u2026<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/faith-formation\/rcia\/\" class=\"read-more\">Read More&nbsp;><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":126,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-161","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1206,"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/161\/revisions\/1206"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stmarysmetamora.com\/church\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}