Becoming Catholic (First Steps)

Becoming a Catholic is a big step. It is something that involves both the head and the heart – so that it involves both learning about the faith and becoming committed to it. For each person it is a unique personal journey.

If you’re at the beginning of your journey, the Catholic Enquiry Centre can provide (within Australia) a copy of "Call and Response: An Introduction to the Catholic Faith". Simply email or phone the Catholic Enquiry Centre and provide your Australian postal address. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / (1300 432 484)

Becoming a Catholic is not a process you can accomplish on your own, it involves joining a parish community. The first step then is to arrange a meeting with a priest or a pastoral associate in your local parish. Contact details can usually be found through an internet search engine. Alternatively you can contact the Catholic Enquiry Centre by phone or email to locate your local parish.

If you do know someone who is a practicing Catholic you might like to talk to them about the faith and perhaps ask them to introduce you to the parish priest, or you might like to accompany them to Mass on some Sundays.

After initial contact with the parish you may be invited to join in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) in which you join with others who are seeking to become members of the Catholic Church. This process may last between six to eighteen months, and depends very much on your readiness to make a commitment to living a Christian life within the Catholic community.

Through the RCIA people meet regularly with a catechist and some Catholics from the local community to listen and learn what it means to be a Catholic. It is not a crash-course. Over a period of months RCIA participants are gradually introduced into the life of the Catholic Church. It can be seen as an apprenticeship where you learn to do what Catholics do, and hopefully, to experience a conversion of heart as you come to know God more deeply through the person of Jesus Christ.

If you are already a baptised Christian (either within the Catholic or other Christian tradition) you will not be baptised a second time.

The RCIA also involves a number of beautiful rituals that are celebrated prior to the final celebration, which is usually at the Easter Vigil. It is from this point that your lifelong journey as a Catholic, and a follower of Jesus, really begins.

If you would like to know more please contact us.