What is OCIA?
Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) is a catechetical program for adults who intend to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church through the reception of the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and eucharist.
Who is this course for?
The course is intendend for two type of audiences: 1) those who want to join the Catholic Church, that is, become Catholic, and 2) those Catholics who are still lacking any of the sacraments of initiation. The target audience is English speaking adults living in Finland.
The course began on Saturday August 29th at St James the Apostole’s Church in Lauttasaari (Myllykallionrinne 1, 00200 Helsinki), but one can still join latest on 26th September, when the next physical meeting will take place at same place at 16-17:30 PM at the classroom 2 upstairs.
Programme structure
- The course will consist of weekly online sessions, which are one hour long. Every month there is one live session at St James the Apostole’s Church.
- For those people attending the course far away from Helsinki, we will work out a solution for remote participation in cooperation with the nearest parish.
- This formation programme follows the four periods of OCIA: Inquiry, Catechumenate, Purification and Enlightenment, and Mystagogy.
- The curriculum integrates Catholic doctrine, Scripture, liturgy, prayer, moral formation, sacramental preparation, parish belonging, and missionary discipleship.
Course schedule
The weekly sessions are held Mondays 20–21 PM online, except on weeks when there is a physical session. The monthly physical sessions are held on 4th Saturday of the month 16–17:30 PM at St Apostole Jacob’s church. There are few exceptions to this pattern. Please see the detailed schedule for the exact dates.
The detailed course program and schedule can be viewed and downloaded here.
Course staff
- Fr Thomas Otieno, course director
- Fr Amando Dee Di
- Fr Dominique Ndagajimana
- Fr Johannes Dinh SCJ
- Silvia Bertozzi
Registration
Registration to the course happens through this online form (Vieraile ulkoisella sivustolla. Linkki avautuu uuteen välilehteen.). The deadline for registration is 26th September. For more information, please contact Fr Thomas Otieno, 041 329 6926, thomas.otieno@katolinen.fi