Director: Sr. Kathy Maire

R.C.I.A. or the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, is a program for adult Christian Formation. The R.C.I.A. has two fundamental purposes: (1) The initiation of un-baptized persons into the Church and (2) The involvement and renewal of the total Parish faith community. The R.C.I.A. program also has separate optional components such as: the initiation of already baptized non-Catholics into the Church, the preparation for Confirmation of already baptized Catholics (juniors in high school or older), and participation and updating for already initiated members of the Church. R.C.I.A. offers an opportunity for a total spiritual renewal of the parish and involves the entire parish in the process of initiating members into its faith community. The Rite is directed to adults, because it is they who hear the preaching of the mystery of Jesus Christ; the Holy Spirit opens their hearts, and they freely and knowingly seek the living God and enter the path of faith and conversion. The R.C.I.A. program attempts to foster that life long process of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ by gradually initiating the participants into the mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord. This process provides both the environment for the means of celebrating the experience of becoming Christian, and aids the subsequent sense of belonging to and responsibility for the life, worship and the mission of the Church. The R.C.I.A. Program runs from September thru May at St. John’s Church. For further information please call the Parish Office at 845-838-0915 or the Religious Education Office at 845-879-4213.