St. James the Apostle Catholic Church warmly welcomes new members to the Catholic faith and tries to provide appropriate spiritual formation according to each person’s individual needs.
ALL ARE WELCOME!
ADULTS BECOMING CATHOLIC
Are you interested in becoming Catholic or simply curious about the Catholic Faith?
We invite you to register for our OCIA classes starting this September! The Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) is a process of study, exploration, faith-sharing, and faith formation with specific liturgical rites for those interested in becoming Catholic, or curious about Catholicism. Our OCIA program is designed to help those who were baptized in a different Christian denomination or who have never been baptized to explore the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. During this process, which is marked by regular ritual acts, participants are introduced to the liturgy, the teachings, and the life of the Catholic Church.
After a time of discernment, participants in our OCIA program may decide to prepare to join the Catholic Church at Easter, or to continue learning in the program and make a decision about joining the Catholic Church later on.
OCIA classes will be held Monday evenings at
6:45 pm. If you are interested in registering, want to learn more about the program, or help with OCIA, please contact Hannah Bernstein (hbernstein@stjamesge.org, 630.469.7540, ext. 206). You can also fill out an online interest form:
CHILDREN/TEENS COMPLETING SACRAMENTS
Do you have a child or teen who has not been baptized or has not received First Communion, or a teen who has not been Confirmed?
We invite you to register them for our OCIC classes starting this September! The Order of Christian Initiation of Children (OCIC) is a program intended for children over seven years old who have not been baptized or who have not received First Communion, along with teenagers who have not been baptized (or who were baptized as infants but have not received further catechesis or the sacraments of First Communion or Confirmation).These children and teens will be invited to explore and learn more about our beautiful and fascinating Catholic faith through interactive teaching, beautiful Catholic art, faith-based activities, and liturgical rites. The classes allow for catechetical education, spiritual formation, and sufficient discernment. At the end of this preparation time, the children and teens will receive their sacraments of Baptism and/or First Communion and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil Mass.
Parents are invited, but not required, to attend the classes with their child(ren). We do expect that families who have children or teenagers in OCIC will be faithfully attending Mass every Sunday.
OCIC classes will be held Monday evenings from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. If you are interested in registering, want to learn more about the program, or help with OCIA, please contact Hannah Bernstein (hbernstein@stjamesge.org, 630.469.7540, ext. 206). You can also fill out an online interest form:
Hannah Bernstein and a team of dedicated parishioners
are waiting to partner with you on the journey of a lifetime.
If you would like to inquire more, please submit the form above
and one of our pastoral staff members will reach out to you.
Do you have a relative, friend or neighbor who might be interested in this program? Invite them to share what we experience when we receive the sacraments. Please tell them about the OCIA/OCIC programs or refer them to this website. Thank you for bringing others to the Lord!