Dear Friends,

Since this Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults was restored to the Church in 1972 after the Second Vatican Council , our parishes have endeavoured to implement it and we have witnessed the entry of many people into the Church through Baptism, and the reception of many others into full communion with the Church.

The RCIA is the sacramental process established by the Church for the initiation of adults.  The beautiful rituals of this process properly celebrated in the midst of our communities call everyone in the parish to conversion and renewal, not just those seeking initiation.  There are diverse roles involved in the process and the whole Catholic community is asked to participate.

One of the joys I experience as Bishop is meeting with Catechumens and the RCIA Teams when I visit parishes and sharing the anticipation of candidates and catechumens who gather with me in the Cathedral on the first Sunday of Lent for the Rite of Election.  After Easter each year, those who were initiated at the Easter Vigil - the neophytes - gather with me at the Cathedral once again for a Paschal Eucharist.  Having been nourished on their journey by the Word of God, they witness to their faith and joy as full members of the Church, now nourished by the Bread of Life in our parish communities.

if you are enquiring, or if you have decided that you would like to join the Catholic Church, then talk to somebody about the RCIA.  The one true God invites us to come and see the good things he has promised.  The RCIA is the way we accept the invitation.

+Michael Putney

BISHOP OF TOWNSVILLE