As of Ash Wednesday, RCIA, or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is now officially called OCIA, or the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults.
Like a singer switching up a stage name, the process of initiating new Catholics into the church has changed monikers, but largely remains the same.
“Order” is a better translation of the original Latin word “ordo,” said Father Michael D. Weston, director of the diocesan Office of Divine Worship. And the initiation process actually contains several rites, or steps, along the way. “(An) order is something much bigger — it’s more an umbrella term to describe this journey or pilgrimage that somebody who is non-baptized sets out on,” he said.
The church is in the midst of a long retranslation process that dates back to the St. John Paul II papacy, said Father Weston. The church’s liturgical texts are being retranslated to be more authentic to the Latin texts. “The first major (revision) was in 2011, which was for the Roman Missal — the book that the priest uses for the prayers of the Mass,” he said. Changes included “and with your spirit” instead of “and also with you.” A new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours is expected this year or next, and a new translation of the Bible is forthcoming.
Though reintroduced in the 20th century, the OCIA traces its roots to the initiation process converts went through in the early days of Christianity, according to the Association for Catechumenal Ministry. In addition to the name change, a few of the steps within the process have changed to better reflect the Latin text, too, such as the Rite of Acceptance, which is now the Rite of Entrance. The changes were approved by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship in early 2024, promulgated by the USCCB that spring and came into effect for optional use in December of last year.
With this new change comes an emphasis on using proper terms, said Father Weston. For example, those who are unbaptized are called catechumens, while the baptized are called candidates. “We’ve gotten into the habit over the past couple decades (of) calling everybody a candidate,” said Father Weston. “The new edition specifically points out that the term candidate is only used for those who have been baptized in another Christian faith and that they’re candidates for full communion.”
Church leaders hope the renaming of the initiation process is an invitation for renewal.
“It’s not supposed to be a class, it’s about how you live,” said Ana Lisa Piñon, diocesan director of faith formation and evangelization programs. “The training is not about September to May, it’s about when you’re ready.”
Some people may need years before they are ready for baptism, said Father Weston. “We can’t take people and put them into a box,” he said. “That’s why we don’t want to say it’s a program; a program has a definite beginning and a definite end. We want to say it’s a process because a process is ongoing.”
He hopes clergy and lay leaders will approach OCIA with new vigor. “If (parish leaders think) all we need to do is change (the) scripts that we have for the Easter Vigil, then that defeats the whole purpose,” he said. “This is an opportunity to hit that restart button.”
Maraist is a freelancer from Reston.
