OCIA is the year-round process which welcomes new members into the Catholic Church. This process is a personal faith journey involving the experience of faith sharing between Catechumenate participants and members of the Church. The Christian initiation of adults is for those who are: 1) unbaptized, 2) baptized Christians of other denominations seeking Full Communion with the Catholic Church, or 3) baptized but not catechized Catholics.

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Christian Initiation is a personal journey of conversion. Since everyone inquires at an individual level, some people need more time than others to prepare for the lifetime commitment that comes with membership in the Catholic Church. The process of spiritual renewal and learning should not be hasty. For those seeking baptism, the whole of the Catechumate process takes at least a year, and for those baptized Christians seeking Full Communion with the Catholic Church, the process usually takes less time.

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Children above the age of reason (about age 7) who have not been baptized are prepared through Christian Initiation of Children and receive all the Sacraments of Initiation at the same time, including Confirmation.​