How to become Catholic in 2025: A step-by-step guide
A young woman is baptized at the 2024 Easter vigil at St. Mary’s Catholic Center at Texas A&M. / Credit: Courtesy of St. Mary’s Catholic Center, Texas A&M
CNA Staff, May 23, 2025 / 13:35 pm (CNA).
The election of Pope Leo XIV earlier this month has — at least according to Google search data — led to a renewed interest in people searching for information on how to “become Catholic.”
This follows several years of anecdotal reports of a surge of people joining the Catholic Church, especially among young people, across many dioceses in numerous countries.
The Catholic Church’s requirements to join may seem, at first, to be complicated. The process involves some important rites of initiation as well as spiritual preparation, fellowship with other Catholics and prospective Catholics, and instruction in the teachings of the faith.
Here’s a guide to becoming Catholic in 2025.
*1) Are you baptized?*
There are three sacraments in particular, known as the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” that a person must receive in order to come fully into communion with the Church that Christ founded, and baptism is always the first. (A sacrament is a visible sign of God’s grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to his Church; the Church has seven of them total.)
The other two sacraments of initiation are the receiving of Christ’s body and blood via the Eucharist, also called holy Communion, and confirmation — whereby the Holy Spirit “confirms and strengthens baptismal grace” within a baptized Catholic.
A simple baptisimal formula, drawn from Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19, is necessary for baptism: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The celebrant pours water on the head of the baptized, or immerses him or her in water.
In the vast majority of cases, Catholic clergy — deacons, priests, or bishops — are responsible for baptisms. But technically anybody, even non-Christians, can baptize in an emergency — such as in cases where a prospective Christian, even an infant, is in imminent danger of death — as long as the correct formula and water are used.
If you know for a fact that you’ve never been baptized before, go ahead and skip to item No. 2 below.
If you’ve been validly baptized as a Catholic at some point in your life, even as an infant, then technically you’re already Catholic. If you were baptized a long time ago at a Catholic church, that church likely still has a record of your baptism and can provide it to you if you ask.
That said, if you’ve been baptized, confirmed, and made your first Communion but have drifted away from your Catholic faith, you can always return to full communion with the Church by going to the sacrament of confession, also called reconciliation or penance. And if you were baptized a long time ago but never received your first holy Communion or confirmation, you can do so after participation in a period of formation; talk to a priest to learn more if that’s your situation.
If you’ve been baptized a Christian — but not a Catholic — that baptism is likely valid as long as it was done using the formula described above. But there’s more you must do before you’re fully in communion with the Catholic Church.
*2) Talk to a priest.*
Contact a local Catholic parish — if you have Catholic friends, they can likely help you with this. The priest or parish leader of Christian initiation may want to meet with you to discuss your desire to become Catholic and help to guide you through the next steps of the process.
*3) Join OCIA.*
The next step is to officially join OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. (This process was previously, for a long time, called RCIA, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, until a name change in 2021.) OCIA is the Church’s official process for initiating prospective Catholics into the Church who have attained the age of reason, generally around the age of 7.
(Some individuals choose to arrange to have private instruction in the Catholic faith before formally entering the Church; however, the normative way to receive formation is through OCIA.)
The first step — if you are unbaptized — is entering the catechumenate; becoming known, thereafter, as a “catechumen.” Depending on where you are at in your faith journey, this stage can last for a period of several years, but usually less than one. You will ask someone who is a fully initiated Catholic who is 16 years old or older (among other requirements) to be your “sponsor” to help to guide you through the journey.
It’s a unique time of learning and questioning that will involve taking classes, likely at your local parish, to learn more about the faith and reflect on how joining the Catholic Church will affect your life. Once you feel ready, the priest and parish team who are working with you may give you approval to make a request for baptism.
If you are already a baptized Christian, however, this first step looks a little bit different. There’s a recognition that you’ve already given your life to Christ as a baptized Christian and may have been active in other Christian communities. You’ll become, instead of a catechumen, a “candidate.”
You will likely go through a similar formation program to the catechumens, helping you understand and experience the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church. (It’s worth noting here that while anyone can attend Mass and it’s definitely encouraged that you do so during this time, only Catholics in communion with the Church can receive the Eucharist, or holy Communion.)
The next stage before baptism, regardless of whether you’re a catechumen or a candidate, is called the “Rite of Election,” in which the catechumens and candidates gather with their sponsors and families, usually on the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is the Church’s special 40-day period of penance and preparation leading up to the joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.
During the Rite of Election ceremony, you will share your desire to be baptized with the local bishop. Your name is written in a book and as a committed catechumen or candidate, you and your compatriots become known as “the elect.” The days of Lent are, for the elect, known as the “Period of Purification and Enlightenment.” Catholics are encouraged to pray for the catechumens and candidates as they near the end of their journey. By this time you will have chosen who you would like to be your godparent or godparents.
At the Easter Vigil Mass, which takes place the Saturday evening before Easter Sunday, catechumens will receive the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist, thereby coming into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Candidates, having already been baptized, will make a profession of faith in the Catholic Church when they are ready to do so and will preferably be received into the Church on a Sunday during the year.
Before that, however, candidates will be required to go to the sacrament of confession and are encouraged to do so frequently during their formation. (Baptism wipes away all sins committed prior, so catechumens do not need to do this.)
After being received into the Church, newly initiated Catholics continue to be formed in their faith during what the Church calls the “Period of Mystagogy.” This lasts until Pentecost, the feast 50 days after Easter in which we celebrate the birth of the Church, when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples.
Welcome home to the Catholic Church!