When I first came upon the term catechumenate, I thought that it was some fancy term for some specific and confusing teaching of the Church or position or something like that. Then I actually looked it up and it is not like that at all. The Catechumenate is simply another term for the process of an adult being initiated into the Catholic Church. Another term for this is RCIA, which means The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. This process of initiation usually takes about a year. During that process each catechumen goes to special classes where they learn about the teachings and practices of the Church. They usually go to three hour classes one night of the week. During this time catechumens can decide to not undergo the classes and just leave and not be initiated in the Church. After all of this rigorous study and understanding of the Church, the catechumens are initiated in the Easter Vigil mass. For those who have never been baptised then they can get baptized, and also receive communion and do their confirmation. For those that have already been baptized in a Christian Church, then the Church acknowledges that baptism as valid and they no longer need another baptism, so they can go straight to communion and confirmation. When the catechumens are given the Sacrament of Confirmation, they are addressed by another name that they have chosen, usually one of a saint, that is most like them.
Personally, I really look forward to attending the Easter Vigil mass every year because not only is it really special and heartwarming to see the people being instituted into the Church, but also because my brother-in-law went through the RCIA process and converted to Catholicism.
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