The diocesan Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization will present a workshop,“Stages and Celebrations: An Overview of the RCIA Process,”  July 26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in St. Anthony of Padua Parish, 250 Franklin St., Hightstown. The training workshop, designed for directors, team members and anyone who is interested in learning about the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, will encompass all of the stages in the RCIA process which include: the Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate, the Period of the Catechumenate, the Period of Purification or Enlightenment, Celebrating the Sacraments of Initiation and the Period of Mystagogy.

RCIA, a rite of the Church, is a restoration by the Second Vatican Council of the early Church’s catechumenate as established by the early Church fathers. Therefore, proper training and knowledge of the process, its specific stages and individual rites are necessary for all involved.

The need for RCIA training is of great importance as the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) indicates that 38,000 adults were baptized in the year 2013 and more than 66,000 were received into full communion in the Church in the United States.

This year, 160 men and women were welcomed into the faith during the Easter Vigil in the Diocese of Trenton.

As Eileen Hart, coordinator of educational advancement in the Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization noted,  those who have participated in training sessions in the past have had diverse reasons and situations for interest in the RCIA.

“Often parishoners are ‘shoulder-tapped’ by their pastors to assist in the RCIA training and wish to learn more about the rites, or they have been through RCIA themselves and wish to help others through the process,” she said.

The July 26 training session will be presented by Oscar Cruz, director of the Catechumenate and Family Catechesis for the Archdiocese of New York. Previous to this ministerial position, he served as full-time parish director of religious education and the RCIA in an inner-city parish for 11 years. Cruz also presented a
training session in Spanish on July 19.

A native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Cruz holds a master’s degree in religious studies from St. Joseph Seminary, Yonkers, N.Y. He received a bachelor of arts degree in education with a concentration in history and religious studies from Manhattan College, New York.

“RCIA is a process, whereby we, the faithful, are called to journey with others in their spiritual journey. We all have different gifts where we can aid catechumens in the RCIA process. Some of us are teachers, some of us show teach through our outreach to those in need, some of us teach through our hospitality as we welcome the stranger, some of us through our prayer life. All of these gifts can be used to aid those in the gradual process of becoming Catholics,” Hart explained.

Cruz stated that he recognizes the need to prepare those who are involved with the RCIA and provide them with the necessary tools and hopes to share his “many years of parish and diocesan experience as well as the best pastoral practices for the full implementation of the Catechumenate, including its history and order.”

“We, as baptized disciples, are all called to witness to our faith. It is through our actions that we draw others to Christ,” Hart acknowledged.

The RCIA Team Training, which will include a question and answer session with Cruz, may be applied to the Diocesan Certificate in RCIA Ministry. The cost is $10 per person and checks should be made payable to “Diocese of Trenton.” Participants should bring a bag lunch.  For information, contact Eileen Hart, 609-403-7185 or email: [email protected].