# Converting to Catholicism as an adult - how's it work? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196 "2013-03-17T21:06:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/21 "2013-03-18T19:17:46Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Excuse me, but in the context of this discussion, it seems like “priest” and “pastor” are used interchangeably. Are priests referred to as pastors, and vice-versa? The “pastor” of a Catholic parish will be a priest. Not every priest will be a pastor, though. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/22 "2013-03-18T19:20:37Z")
In my experience, a catholic referring to any priest as a pastor is rare, indeed. Maaybe if there’s a junior priest who handles youth ministry, he’ll be called the youth pastor but that still sounds pretty lutheran to this poster. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/23 "2013-03-18T20:08:49Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > In my experience, a catholic referring to any priest as a pastor is rare, indeed. Maaybe if there’s a junior priest who handles youth ministry, he’ll be called the youth pastor but that still sounds pretty lutheran to this poster. A Catholic pastor is basically the priest in charge of a parish with several priests , although there seems to be a trend towards appointing “administrators” instead of “pastors” . (I’m not sure what the difference is.) You won’t often hear Catholics referring to the pastor because it’s usually not necessary to specify that you’re talking about the pastor and not one of the other priests. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/24 "2013-03-19T01:42:39Z")
If you call the Rectory and want to speak to the “guy in charge,” but don’t know the names of the priests of the parish, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask to speak to the pastor. You won’t have to explain yourself. And you’ll get the guy in charge. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/25 "2013-03-19T02:23:48Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > Care to link to any official document that says the Catechumens _must_ be dismissed after the Litugy of the Word, the instruction \*must \*be given while the Liturgy of the Eucharist is going on or that priests _cannot_ attend the meetings? Because I looked, and couldn’t find anything like that. Couldn’t even find any unofficial documents that said those things. This. The norms are quite limited, and while all of the above items are common features of RCIA as she is spoke, and all are theologically fitting, none of them are norms. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/26 "2013-03-19T07:28:58Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I did this (went through the RCIA process). It is approximately a year of meetings for discussion, study, and prayer. The catechumens are ritually excused after the readings and homily and before the eucharist at Mass on Sundays, and go to a parish meeting room for this purpose. And there is another meeting during the week. That’s a local thing, I don’t know whether it will go by parish, by country or what. Both my local parish and my mother’s offer _Catecumenado de la Conversión_ (RCIA) and in both cases it’s done at the same times as any other catechesis, not at the same time as any Masses. Then again, we begin by never having catechesis on Sunday - the first time I ran into the expression “Sunday school” I had to ask what did it mean. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/27 "2013-03-20T13:53:35Z")
Huh. I had no idea becoming a Catholic was so much work. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/28 "2013-03-20T14:25:28Z")
The only reason I got confirmed was so that should I experience a religious awakening in my twilight years, I can skip RCIA. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/29 "2013-03-20T14:27:05Z")
Well, it’s basically a year of Catechesis, of learning about the church’s tenets. I wouldn’t call that “too much work”, but then, my Confirmation group choose to take the three years course (most people take one). The Nephew is in his first year of Communion catechesis, the whole course will be two years. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/30 "2013-03-20T14:31:04Z")
> [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > Excuse me, but in the context of this discussion, it seems like “priest” and “pastor” are used interchangeably. Are priests referred to as pastors, and vice-versa? > [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > The “pastor” of a Catholic parish will be a priest. Not every priest will be a pastor, though. > [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > In my experience, a catholic referring to any priest as a pastor is rare, indeed. Maaybe if there’s a junior priest who handles youth ministry, he’ll be called the youth pastor but that still sounds pretty lutheran to this poster. Contrary to **Inner Stickler** ’s experience, the appointment of a priest as pastor of a parish is a big part of Catholic life. Regular churchgoers know who their pastor is, as opposed to other priests also assigned to the parish – “parochial vicars,” or assistant priests – or simply in residence. By canon law, a pastor is the single priest responsible for the pastoral care of a certain community of Christ’s faithful stably established within a diocese. He is appointed by the bishop, and is responsible for ensuring that parochial registers of baptisms, of marriages and of deaths are recorded according to the law, a parish archive is maintained. Although he is assigned by the bishop, that assignment creates certain rights under canon law. For example, a bishop cannot simply fire a pastor without either the pastor’s consent or a trial. > [@doreen](#): > > A Catholic pastor is basically the priest in charge of a parish with several priests , although there seems to be a trend towards appointing “administrators” instead of “pastors” . (I’m not sure what the difference is.) You won’t often hear Catholics referring to the pastor because it’s usually not necessary to specify that you’re talking about the pastor and not one of the other priests. A parish administrator is assigned when the parish is vacant, and can happen for several reasons. First, if the diocesan see is itself vacant, then the diocese will be under the care of a diocesan administrator – this happens when the Bishop dies, retires, or is transferred. Until the Pope appoints a new Bishop, the diocesan administrator doesn’t have the authority to appoint pastors. But if a parish is vacant, he may appoint a parish administrator, who performs the necessary functions but does not have the rights, under law, that a pastor does. This is considered a temporary fix; indeed, canon law provides that if the diocesan see has been vacant for over a year, then the diocesan administrator may lawfully appoint pastors. The Ordinary – the Bishop – may also choose to appoint a parish administrator rather than a pastor. This is often done, again, as a temporary fix, or as a way to see how a younger priest handles the responsibility of being in charge without creating the more permanant expectation that being assigned pastor would bring. It’s not unusual, in the annual publication of priest assignments in a diocese, to see something like, “Fr. O’Malley, from administrator, St. Luke’s parish, to pastor, St. Luke’s parish,” a sign that the temporary assignment went well. Or “Fr. O’Malley, from administrator, St. Luke’s parish, to parochial vicar, St. Michael’s parish,” a sign that perhaps some more experience as an assistant would help Fr. O’Malley. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/31 "2013-03-20T14:39:17Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Well, it’s basically a year of Catechesis, of learning about the church’s tenets. I wouldn’t call that “too much work”, but then, my Confirmation group choose to take the three years course (most people take one). The Nephew is in his first year of Communion catechesis, the whole course will be two years. I know it’s not a lot of work _in the abstract_, but to enter most Protestant congregations you just have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have some water splashed on you. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/32 "2013-03-20T14:40:16Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > In my experience, a catholic referring to any priest as a pastor is rare, indeed. Maaybe if there’s a junior priest who handles youth ministry, he’ll be called the youth pastor but that still sounds pretty lutheran to this poster. In fact, it’s [a well-publicized](http://www.catholicherald.com/stories/Clergy-Assignments-2012,19230?content_source=&category_id=&search_filter=clergy+appointments&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=&sub_type=stories,blogs&town_id=) annual aspect of Catholic life. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/33 "2013-03-20T14:41:19Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I know it’s not a lot of work _in the abstract_, but to enter most Protestant congregations you just have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and have some water splashed on you. It’s the old disagreement once again: faith vs. works. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/34 "2013-03-20T15:41:28Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > This. The norms are quite limited, and while all of the above items are common features of RCIA as she is spoke, and all are theologically fitting, none of them are norms. I’m not sure what you mean by norms, but all of the process I described is highly specified, there are specific prescribed prayers and rites for all of it, and it is officially taught to liturgists and others involved, in diocese-wide seminars. The amount of compliance, of course, varies quite a bit. As it happens, the liturgist for my parish is also the liturgist for the entire diocese, so in my parish there may be more compliance than in others. It isn’t so easy to find official Catholic liturgical procedures on the internet. But we kind of invented rigid codified procedures, so believe me it’s all written down somewhere. Also, in my diocese being confirmed does not excuse an adult from going through the RCIA process. Neither does being baptized into another faith. If you are not “in full communion”, then you go through the whole thing just like anyone else. The rites of initiation you receive at the Easter Vigil will differ, is all. Oh, and about the word pastor? It is universally used in Catholic parishes to describe the priest in charge of that parish. At least in my diocese it is. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/35 "2013-03-20T16:03:19Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Contrary to **Inner Stickler** ’s experience, the appointment of a priest as pastor of a parish is a big part of Catholic life. Regular churchgoers know who their pastor is, as opposed to other priests also assigned to the parish – “parochial vicars,” or assistant priests – or simply in residence. Haha! Other priests assigned to the parish?! Crazy talk. The priest at my hometown parish currently covers 4 or 5 different parishes. In larger cities and closer to the bishops, there may be more priests but for a lot of people the priest is the pastor and there aren’t any other priests around who need to be differentiated like that. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/36 "2013-03-20T17:14:58Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Oh, and about the word pastor? It is universally used in Catholic parishes to describe the priest in charge of that parish. At least in my diocese it is. Universally would require that the whole world, every single language, use that term. Your diocese \<\> the wole world. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/37 "2013-03-20T17:19:54Z")
Reminds me of [this](http://archive.thehumorlist.com/Site0/Txt/9903150.txt): > [@](#): > > At the Abbey Theatre in Ireland, we purchased tickets to see The Field, > a play by an author I had never heard of. I asked the ticket seller if > he was well known. “He is,” she said. “He’s world-famous in Ireland.” > > MaryLou Phillips One of the few memorable things I read in _Reader’s Digest_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/38 "2013-03-20T17:25:03Z")
I had a friend who converted as an adult for several reasons, one of them being so that he could marry his Catholic fiancee. He underwent the Baptism and Confirmation in rapid progression. After the latter ceremony, I went up to his fianceee (who had been his sponsor), and told her “I hope you’re satisfied. Because of you, he’s now a Confirmed Bachelor.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/39 "2013-03-20T17:33:25Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Also, in my diocese being confirmed does not excuse an adult from going through the RCIA process. Neither does being baptized into another faith. If you are not “in full communion”, then you go through the whole thing just like anyone else. The rites of initiation you receive at the Easter Vigil will differ, is all. I am not sure what you mean by this. Of course, an adult who was baptized into another denomination would have to go through RCIA - there are two other sacraments incolved. But I’m not sure what you mean about confirmation- if you mean that someone who was confirmed in a different denomination would have to go through RCIA, I don’t recall anyone saying otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196/40 "2013-03-20T20:39:01Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Universally would require that the whole world, every single language, use that term. Your diocese \<\> the wole world. mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/converting-to-catholicism-as-an-adult-hows-it-work/653196.md?page=3)