The St. Aloysius Parish community joyfully celebrates these Catechumens and Candidates and their sponsors who participated in the Rite of Acceptance & Welcome last weekend.
Please keep each of them in your prayers as we accompany them on their journey to their Sacraments of Initiation at Easter Vigil.
What is the Rite of Acceptance & Welcome?
The Rite of Acceptance recognizes the Catechumens decision to begin the process of becoming a member of the Catholic Church through Baptism and Welcomes the Candidates, those who have been baptized in another faith into the process of full communion with the Church.
It is the first of the Rites celebrated in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), and their first public ritual. In the Rite of Acceptance & Welcome, a change of identity takes place: those previously known as inquirers become a part of the Catholic Church in the Order of Catechumens and Candidates for full communion.
They are officially welcomed by the Church as disciples, members (albeit not yet full members) of the community of faith. The text calls this rite “the first consecration by the Church” of those seeking Christian initiation.
