RCIA is now OCIA: What’s behind the name change? The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), the process for people to learn about the Catholic faith and join the Church, has been a staple in Catholic life and lingo for years. Now, the process is getting renamed and revamped. In 2021, the U.S. bishops changed the name of one of the Church’s best-known acronyms, reorienting the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults into the new Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA for short. The name change and the new approach that it represents are now in the process of being implemented across the country. The changes are part of a long-term, worldwide effort to improve the Church’s translation of English prayers and liturgical texts from their original Latin. For the English-speaking churches around the world, including in the United States, the Latin word “ordo” is being retranslated from the English word “rite” to “order.” The process by which people convert to Catholicism encompasses a spiritual journey that involves the Holy Spirit, not only liturgical actions or prayers (that is, a rite). “The focus shifts to less upon what they know and more on their ability to conform their lives to the teachings of the Church.” The new structure of OCIA goes further than RCIA. It is meant to invite candidates and catechumens into a continuous process of spiritual formation as opposed to emphasizing fixed checkpoints on a path to joining the Church and receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, first Holy Communion and Confirmation. That is reflected in a change to the length, breadth and timing of the process by which someone is initiated into the Church. The OCIA process encourages candidates and catechumens to take charge of their faith education, ask questions of catechists and explore the answers. Most catechumens and candidates will still be received into the church during the Easter Vigil, but OCIA encourages them to get involved in the parish community even before they receive the sacraments, sowing seeds of discipleship that will grow well beyond confirmation. “Instead of just waiting, if a person has the conviction in their heart, if they are ready, they can join the church quicker than waiting for the Easter Vigil. For a lot of people, the waiting sometimes is the downfall. You have to wait and go through the process, and some people need that. But at any point a priest can get a special dispensation to do confirmation.