On 24 September next, from 7.00 to 8.00pm, the Council for Catechetics of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference will host a free webinar on the theme, The French Experience of the Catechumenate. Professor Roland Lacroix, professor of practical theology and catechetics at the Higher Institute of Catechetical Pastoral Studies at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic Institute of Paris, will be the presenter, and Dr Alexander O’Hara (pictured), the National Director for Catechetics of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, will host this seminar.
The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) – the Cathechumenate – is the process of accompaniment that adults undertake in order to become a Catholic.
Ahead of the upcoming webinar, Dr O’Hara said, “Increasing numbers of adults are being received into the Catholic Church in France. So far in 2024, the RCIA has been experienced by 7,000 adults who were baptised in France at Easter. This indicates a 31% increase over 2023. Tellingly, the strongest increase this year has been among young people. It reflects the success and the fruits of the Catechumenate in France. The RCIA is also increasing in the Catholic Church in Ireland. This webinar will offer valuable insights into the French experience, shedding light on how the Church in Ireland can draw from their success.”
Professor Lacroix was for a long time responsible for the catechumenate and then head of the training service in his diocese, the Diocese of Annecy, France. His thesis The Adult Catechumenate in France 1945-2005: A Historical, Pastoral, and Theological Analysis, focuses on the French catechumenate. His research mainly concerns catechumenal practices, conversion, and the relationship between catechesis and liturgy. He is an associate editor for France of the journal Lumen Vitae, an international French-language journal of pastoral studies and catechesis, and is a member of the ‘International Society for Practical Theology’, the European Team for Catechesis, and of the European Team for Catechumenate (Eurocat). Professor Lacroix’s latest published work is Accompanying Catechumens [Paris, Salvator, 2022].
To register for the free webinar on EventBrite see link here.
ENDS
