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Welcome to the web site for our RCIA Programs at Holy Name Parish, Toronto (Canada).
We meet every WEDNESDAY evening, between October and Pentecost (i.e., May/June).
The first meeting of our new program will be on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 7:00-9:00 PM,
in the Holy Name Parish Meeting Room (in the basement of the church)--enter by the door on Gough Avenue.
For information about the Program, please contact Holy Name parish office (416-466-8281),
or Joyce Rerrie at [email protected] (416-466-4637), or Michael Goodstadt at [email protected]
RCIA stands for "Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults". The origins of RCIA go back to the earliest
years of the Church, when those wishing to become Christians underwent a long period of education and spiritual preparation
prior to receiving the three Sacraments of Initiation, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.
The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) began the process of returning to the Church's original understanding
and practice in relation to initiation of new Catholic Christians. This, together with recent experience in "missionary" countries,
has led to the development of a more formal process of spritual preparation for those wishing to become Christians, and for
those wishing to join in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church (i.e., for those who have already been baptised and/or
confirmed in one of our fellow Christian Churches).
At the present time, the Church requires that all those wishing to profess their faith in God and
in Jesus Christ should do so through participating in an RCIA Program, rather than restricting this to one-on-one preparation
(catechesis) by a priest or other religious.
As the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has expressed it: "Preparation for the sacraments
of Christian initiation shall not be limited to individual catechesis. Unless particular circumstances call for another practice,
the candidate shall be integrated into a support group organized for this purpose, so that the experience of ecclesial life
can be experienced" (Complementary Norms to the 1983 Code of Canon Law: Offical Document No. 582, December 1, 1987)
A corresponding program and rite of intiation has been developed for children who are of catechetical
age. This program is know as RCIC, which stands for "Rite of Christian Initiation of Children"
This site will include information concerning:
- The history and purpose of RCIA
- The major milestones in the process of Christian initiation of adults that form part of the
RCIA program
- The course of preparation that is followed by our RCIA program at Holy Name Parish
- Logistics involved in beginning and operating our RCIA program
- Resources employed in our RCIA program
- Other resources available to those responsible for developing and/or running an RCIA program
- Resources available to RCIA participants
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