Implementation Dates Set FOR Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and National Statutes
Decrees have been promulgated for the new translation of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults and the newly revised National Statues for the Christian Initiation of Adults, both to be available soon in English and Spanish.
Texts will be available for purchase on November 1, 2024. First use is possible on December 1, 2024, and the National Statutes will take effect. Use of this ritual book is mandatory beginning Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE OCIA/RICA:
- The revised OCIA/RICA retains the identical arrangement and numbering as the current USA editions, and the appendices remain.
- Terminology has been refined to better clarify titles, e.g., “inquirer,” “catechumen,” “elect,” and “candidate.”
- New sample introductions are provided for use by the celebrant in the combined rites, making clear the distinctions between groups.
- The combined rites for Easter Vigil also now include texts for the baptism of an infant (adapted from the Order of Baptism of Children) since the Missal and other liturgical texts provides for this possibility.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE NATIONAL STATUTES:
- The 1988 version of the National Statutes for the Catechumenate contained 37 paragraphs and included not only particular law for the United States but also norms contained in the ritual text or the universal law.
- In their study of the statutes, USCCB Committees directed that they be shortened so that they are truly legislative, complementary to the universal law, and unique to this country.
- The new National Statutes for the Christian Initiation of Adults contain only 18 Norms.
- The statutes will be printed in the ritual and study editions the OCIA /RICA (in English and Spanish, respectively).
- Three USCCB Committees are in the process of developing a compendium on the OCIA/RICA which will include the 1988 National Statutes…, indicating their source in the ritual text or universal law.
Compare the old version of the National Statutes with the new version and learn more about what the changes mean
OCIA (English) and RICA (Spanish) ritual and study editions are available at a discount through the ODWS SHOP
- Ritual editions in English and Spanish
- Study edition
