Sacred Heart Church

RCIA for children is for children 8 and older who have not been baptized and/or received religious formation. It is a yearlong (can be longer) journey with Jesus Christ and His Church. Students seeking full initiation into the Church will be Baptized, Confirmed and receive Holy Communion on the Easter Vigil (this is the only time the Church Baptizes older individuals and receives them fully into the Church). Students seeking First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion can set a date anytime of the year (except Advent and Lent) after at least a full year of journeying with Christ and His Church.
The RCIA for children program runs as follows: students will first join their peers in the Faith Formation classes on Sunday’s from 9:15 -10:20am and be responsible for assignments and attendance. Then the students will attend the 10:30 am Mass with their families. After the Gospel Fr. Ian will call the student forward (RCIA student only), pray over them and then the group of RCIA students with their Catechist will walk over to the school building (to the RCIA room) for a 30 minute lesson. After Mass families are to come over to the school building and meet their child at the RCIA room.
This format for RCIA is called ‘Liturgy of the Word’ and is actually a more typical style for RCIA for adults and children. This format allows the young people to both be with their peer group and to have the small group/individualized attention they need as they journey towards sacramental initiation. We will use the Journey of Faith series, which is a short booklet that allows for discussion and fun activities. It uses comic like pictures and real life examples to keep the youths attention. We will also use the Bible and the Sunday Reading, games and hands-on learning, etc.

For more information call the Faith Formation Office at 219-362-2815