Pope Innocent III declared at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” His Holiness Innocent III unequivocally declared that all men must belong to the Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ in order to be saved. Period. Subsequently, Pope Boniface VIII made the matter even more clear when in 1302 he unequivocally declared, “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff” (Unam Sanctam, 1302). All of this makes sense because the purpose of the Catholic Church is to be the means of salvation for the entire world. Fr. John Laux in “Catholic Apologetics, Book IV” explains:
From this commission of Christ (i.e., Matthew 28:18-20), it is evident that His followers form an organized society under the leadership and guidance of the Apostles and their successors, with the right to teach and to command on one side, and the duty to be taught and to obey on the other. Everything is visible about His great institution: Baptism, which is necessary for membership, the other Sacraments which He commanded His followers to receive, the rulers and lawgivers whom the faithful must obey, the tribunal before which the faithful are judged and to which they have a right to appeal.
It is not possible to be spiritual and not religious. Jesus Christ, God-made-man, instituted a visible, organized religion. It is not possible to follow Him without religion. And it is not possible to be pleasing to God in any other religion than the divinely established Catholic Religion, which we know is of divine origin because of reason and because of the countless miracles present only in the Catholic Religion. The Church has always taught that there is no salvation outside of the Church (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus). We are called to bring all people into the One Church of salvation, the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is the Church founded by Jesus Christ Himself and the one true Church - outside of which there can be no salvation. You take an extremely important step for your own salvation if you are beginning the process of becoming a Catholic.
To be a Catholic, you must profess the Catholic Faith in its entirety (which means you must know what the Church teaches), be united in the Sacraments, and follow the Church's teachings (e.g. the Commandments of God, the Church's Precepts, and all Christian moral teachings). There are three overall steps in the process: Studying the Catholic Faith, Working with a Catholic priest regarding your background, and receiving the Sacraments.
The process will start with you learning about the Catholic Faith. This is most often done in classes known as RCIA Classes. RCIA is an abbreviation for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. At CatechismClass.com, we offer a fully online RCIA Program designed for anyone who is looking to become Catholic. Through our program, hundreds of individuals have studied the Catholic Faith and joined the Catholic Church without having to attend in person RCIA classes. All you have to do is sign up on our page and begin working through the program materials.. When you finish the classes, you will receive our certificate of completion.
If you have not already started to do so, begin attending weekly Sunday Mass at a Catholic Church. You may not yet receive Holy Communion, but you should begin to attend Mass, meet the priest, and meet your fellow local Catholics. You should also begin spending time in daily prayer. Say the Rosary, which you will be learning how to pray in the online lessons. Ask God daily for the graces you need. Resources for how to pray and begin a Catholic life will be contained throughout all of our online RCIA lessons.
After you finish studying the Faith in a formal class whether online or in person, you will need to work with your local parish priest to arrange the logistics of entering the Church. The priest may have additional questions for you including the possibility of testing your knowledge of the Faith. He will need details on your upbringing and will need to know your state in life and if you are married. Work with him honestly so he can help you enter the Church. Most importantly, do not be afraid. Know that no matter what you did in the past (e.g., you were married before, you lived a sinful life, etc.) you certainly can become Catholic. NO ONE is unable of entering the Church. NO ONE. All are called to be Catholic since salvation depends on it. You ar called to be Catholic and you can become one.
If you are not already validly baptized, you will conclude your journey with the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism into the Church. You will also receive the Lord's True Body and Blood in Holy Communion and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at the same time. If you were baptized as a Protestant, the priest will need to determine if your Baptism was valid (e.g. the correct words were used, the correct matter was used in the Sacrament, and the minister had the proper intention). You may need to be conditionally baptized to be safe (which we would recommend) and you will make a profession of the Catholic Faith and a repudiation of errors. You will then receive your First Holy Communion and the Sacrament of Confirmation.
You will then begin living a Catholic Life and over time sharing what you learned with others. What are elements of living a Catholic Life? A Catholic is someone who is baptized, believes the same doctrine, and is united in the worship of God through the same Sacraments. Living a Catholic life also requires uniformity in many matters. A Catholic should strive to live a life that is consistent with the beliefs stated in the Apostle’s Creed and in keeping with the 10 Commandments. The words and example of Jesus, prayer, the communion of the saints, and the community of the Church are all there to support and strengthen Catholics and their families in their daily lives. Trust in the Lord and love thy neighbor. Catholics should also observe the precepts of the Church (i.e. attend Holy Mass on all Sundays and all Holy Days of Obligation, abstain from meat on ALL Fridays of the year, receive Holy Communion in the state of grace at least once during the Easter Season, fast on all required days and more often as you are able), pray the Rosary ideally every day, perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, frequent the Sacrament of Confession and Holy Communion, engage in apostolic and evangelization activities to make the Faith known to others, and to strive for greater perfection in the spiritual life.
We should also pray for the dead often, and even visit the cemetery to pray for the dead. We should live an outward and an interior Catholic life that is always an inspiration to others and helps us better imitate our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Our purpose as a Catholic is to imitate Christ and to work towards Heaven. Catholics also must never support abortion, embryonic stem cell research, homosexual marriage, human cloning, euthanasia, or artificial contraception. A Catholic must believe all dogmas of the Catholic Church declared over the past 2,000 years since. And in so doing, we can hope for final perseverance and a place in Heaven with our Lord and all of the saints who entered Heaven for us.
After you finish studying the Faith in a formal class whether online or in person, you will need to work with your local parish priest to arrange the logistics of entering the Church. The priest may have additional questions for you including the possibility of testing your knowledge of the Faith. He will need details on your upbringing and will need to know your state in life and if you are married. Work with him honestly so he can help you enter the Church. But know above all that no matter what you did in the past (e.g., you were married before, you lived a sinful life, etc.) that you certainly can become Catholic. NO ONE is unable of entering the Church. NO ONE. All are called to be Catholic since your salvation depends on it.