Q: I received a call inquiring about a catechumen who will have 38 weeks of RCIA instead of the normal 42 weeks by Easter Vigil. May they be baptized with the proper instructions and not have to wait another year?
I looked in the RCIA book #76 and there is no reference to time specific… says could be several years and “should be long enough for the conversion and faith of the catechumen to become strong”
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A: There is no “normal 42 weeks” for the RCIA. The paragraph you cite is the correct one. In the US, the National Statutes state that the catechumenate preferably “should begin before Lent in one year and extend until Easter of the following year” (6), but few parishes follow that. Because so many catechumens come to us with experience in prayer and discernment, I argue that “credits transfer.”