Christian Initiation of Children (CIC) is the process adapted from the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for children to become Catholic and to receive the sacraments of initiation - Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. Children seek Christian initiation either at the direction of their parents or guardians or, with parental permissions, on their own initiative.  Such children are capable of receiving and nurturing a personal faith but cannot be treated like adults. Children are dependent on their parents or guardians, and can be strongly influenced by their friends and their social surroundings.

CIC seeks to invite children into a process of conversion, engaging them in an extended process that may even last several years, addressing the needs of families in multi-generational gatherings, and implementing a process that encompasses the catechetical, communal, liturgical, and apostolic formation of children.

Who is Christian Initiation of Children for?

• have not been baptized as infants, who have attained the use of reason (age 7-17) and are of catechetical age
• are baptized Christian seeking to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Is this "sacramental catch up"?

No. This is a common misconception for children rather than being understood as the process adapted from RCIA. Sacraments are best understood as encounters with Christ by those responding to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Sacraments are not meant to be “celebrations of graduation,” but celebrate the various points in one’s life of faith. Sacraments have become a kind of reward for completion of a program, rather than a celebration of the faith of an individual and the community. In the Church there are different ways by which people receive the Sacraments of Initiation;  no one form is better than the other, they are just different. According to Canon Law (CCL # 852, #866), children who are of catechetical age, must receive all three sacraments of initiation at baptism, just as prescribed for adults.

For additional information on Christian Initiation of Children, please contact the Faith Formation office at 830-625-4531 ext. 201.