When an adult wishes to become a full member in the Catholic Church, the procedure that we follow is called the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA. This process is broken into three major steps.

First is acceptance into the order of Catechumens. In this step, the individuals are taught the doctrine of the Catholic Faith in preparation for the reception of the sacraments at the Easter Vigil. At St. Mary’s, we have RCIA classes on Tuesday nights from 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.. The candidates are also dismissed from Mass after the Liturgy of the Word with their leader in order to discuss and pray over the readings for the next Sunday Liturgy.

Second is the Election. In this step, the candidates are presented before the bishop and are officially "enrolled" as ones to be received into the Church. Every first Sunday of Lent at 2:30 p.m. Catechumens come from all over the diocese to declare before the Church their intention to be received into the Church. Also at this time, the newly elected Catechumens undergo the scrutinies during the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent.

Third is the actual reception of the sacraments and welcome into full communion with the universal and local Church. At this stage, those welcomed into the Church are called Neophytes to indicate that they are "newly planted" into the Church.