Becoming Catholic

Jesus Christ is constantly working in people's hearts and inspiring them to become Catholic, and so we initiate people into the Church year-round depending on your unique circumstance and faith practice. 

For baptized and practicing Christians of any denomination, the process and timeline are highly personalized. You will meet with one of our priests for prayer and conversation about why you are seeking to become Catholic, and the two of you will establish what doctrinal formation and timeline is appropriate for you. Once you are fully ready to be received into the Church, you will make your First Confession privately and then make a public Profession of Faith and receive the sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at a weekend Mass. 

For those not yet baptized, the process takes a bit more time and involves several stages and liturgical rites to draw out and deepen a candidate's desire for Baptism. It also involves a broad formation on the basics of the Catholic faith and an introduction to active faith life at Divine Grace Parish. These stages include:

• Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate culminating in the Rite of Entrance into the Catechumenate
• Period of the Catechuemante, involving regular Catholicism Classes on the basics of the Catholic faith and culminating in the Rite of Election at the Diocesan Cathedral
• Period of Purification and Enlightenment, taking place during Lent and involving the celebration of three Scrutinies during Sunday Mass
• Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation during the Easter Vigil
• Period of Mystagogy, involving deeper reflection on the sacraments received and fuller entrance into the life of the parish