Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) including Children/Youth
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The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA)(For adults and Children/Youth 7 years old and older)
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish has a year-around OCIA. At Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, the OCIA is not an education program, it is a formation process, a way of life, for those wishing to complete their initiation into the Catholic Church. There are no classes. There are no set number of meetings or specific time for completing the OCIA process. It is meant to take as long as necessary (but at least a year), depending on your level of catechesis, to complete formation and to celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation. OCIA is an on-going process that is based on Catechesis and uses various Rites which lead to the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at an appropriate Easter Vigil. After initiation, we ask that you participate in a period of post-initiation catechesis called Mystagogy.
We begin the OCIA process with a 6-session Inquiry period that meets on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 pm at the parish Annex. This is a time for you to ask questions and to learn more about the OCIA process and the Catholic faith. We meet at our parish Family Center at the Annex located at 11762 FM1560 in Helotes. Please e-mail Deacon Dan to learn the beginning date for our next OCIA Inquiry session.
Once you complete the Inquiry sessions you will meet with the complete OCIA group in the Guadalupe room on the OLG parish church campus on Riggs Road. (The room is located on the left side when standing in the patio next to the parish office looking at the parish hall. You will see a breezeway and the room is on right with a glass wall.) The entire OCIA group meets every Sunday beginning with attending the 9:30 am Mass and then attending the full group meeting from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm (except for holiday weekends) as a small Christian community.
Children/Youth 7 years old and older
Children/youth meet every Sunday beginning with attending 9:30 am Mass and then meeting in classrooms connected to the Guadalupe room from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm. Parents participate in the OCIA group meetings every Sunday. New parents attend the 6 session Inquiry period that meets on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 8:30 pm at the parish Annex.
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Contact Us
Deacon Dan Quaderer
Adults and Children/Youth 7 years old and older
(210) 386-5474
d[email protected]
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- For the Unbaptized
- For Christians Baptized in another Christian denomination
- For Baptized Catholics
- For Children and Youth
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For the Unbaptized
The OCIA is the process/formation period for anyone who has not been Baptized Christian to be initiated into the Catholic Church and to become a member of the Body of Christ and People of God. Your faith journey begins with a 6-week Inquiry session at which you can ask questions and learn more about the OCIA process and the Catholic faith. You will then enter the Catechumenate status through the Rite of Entrance. After this you will spend a year or more with us to be formed as Catholic Christian disciples. At the appropriate Easter Vigil you will be initiated into the Catholic Faith through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.
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For Christians Baptized in another Christian denominationThe OCIA is the process/formation period for anyone who has not been Baptized Christian to be initiated into the Catholic Church and to become a member of the Body of Christ and People of God. Your faith journey begins with a 6-week Inquiry session at which you can ask questions and learn more about the OCIA process and the Catholic faith. You will then enter the Catechumenate status through the Rite of Entrance. After this you will spend a year or more with us to be formed as Catholic Christian disciples. At the appropriate Easter Vigil you will be initiated into the Catholic Faith through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.
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For Baptized Catholics
Adult Catholics who were Baptized as infants but subsequently didn’t receive catechesis in the Catholic Faith and thus didn’t receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist, complete their initiation through the OCIA similarly to Catechumens who have never been Baptized. The OCIA is an extended process/formation period in which the faith poured into you at Baptism is strengthened and grows in order for you to attain maturity as a fully formed Catholic through pastoral instruction. At the appropriate Easter Vigil you will complete your initiation into the Catholic Faith through the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist.
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For Children and Youth
Once a child reaches 7 years old (the age of reason) the Catholic Church no longer permits infant baptism. These children must now be fully initiated into the Catholic Faith through the OCIA. It is the same process used to prepare/form adults. However, it is modified for Children and Youth. The children/youth celebrate a series of rites along with the adults. Parents participate in the OCIA group meetings every Sunday. New parents attend the 6-session Inquiry period. You and your child/youth will spend a year or more with us to be formed as Catholic Christian disciples. At the appropriate Easter Vigil your child/youth will be initiated into the Catholic Faith through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.