Your First Confession as an Adult Convert (OCIA)

If you're in OCIA and have never been baptized, you don't go to confession before you become Catholic: Baptism itself forgives every sin (CCC 1263), and your first confession comes some time after it. If you were already baptized in another Christian church, you'll make your first confession shortly before you're received into the Catholic Church, and it covers the serious sins of your life since your baptism. OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, is what most parishes used to call RCIA. Your director will tell you the dates; this page explains the rest.

I'm in OCIA. Do I need to go to confession before I'm received?

It depends on one question: have you been baptized?

If you've never been baptized

Then no. Confession is for sins committed after Baptism, and someone who isn't baptized can't validly receive the other sacraments yet (can. 842 §1). You don't need to. The Catechism is clear that "by Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin" (CCC 1263). Whatever you've carried, it's washed away at the font.

During Lent, the elect (catechumens preparing for Baptism) celebrate the scrutinies on the third, fourth and fifth Sundays. These are prayers for healing and strength, prayed over you by the community. They aren't confession, and you won't be asked to name sins aloud. At the Easter Vigil you receive Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion in a single celebration (CCC 1233).

Your first confession comes after that, whenever you need it. Every Catholic is asked to confess serious sins at least once a year (can. 989), and the Church warmly recommends confessing everyday faults too (CCC 1458). Many new Catholics go in their first months, simply to receive the grace of the sacrament. Your OCIA team or parish priest can help you plan it.

If you were baptized in another church

Then yes, usually. If your earlier baptism was valid, the Church doesn't repeat it (can. 845 §1), so the forgiveness that comes with Baptism has already happened, back then. What remains are the sins committed since. Before you're received into full communion, typically with your Confirmation and First Communion, you make your first confession. The rite itself asks candidates, following their own conscience, to confess beforehand and to tell the confessor they're about to be received (OCIA 482). It's a separate celebration, ahead of the rite of reception, and your diocese may set its own norms for the timing.

If there's a real doubt about whether your earlier baptism was valid, your parish may baptize you conditionally, and the order of things may change. Ask your OCIA director.

A small note on words: the U.S. bishops keep "convert" for people coming to faith in Christ, not for baptized Christians being received into the Catholic Church. Your parish will likely call you a "candidate." We use "convert" here because it's the word most people search for.

When does first confession happen in OCIA?

For baptized candidates it's usually during Lent, in the weeks before the Easter Vigil, though people are received at other times of year too. Some parishes hold a penance service for candidates; others arrange individual appointments. If your parish leaves the timing to you, ask the priest for an appointment instead of joining a Saturday line. A first confession covering many years deserves unhurried time.

You're also free to make it to a different priest from the one who leads your OCIA class (can. 991), if that would make it easier to be honest. See what if the priest knows me?

Do I have to confess my whole life?

For a baptized candidate, your first confession covers everything since your baptism. If you were baptized as a baby, that means since you were old enough to know right from wrong, which the Church presumes happens around age seven (can. 97 §2). It can feel enormous. It's more manageable than it sounds, and our guide to first confession as an adult shows how to look back over a whole life without panic.

The Church asks you to confess serious sins by kind and roughly how often (can. 988 §1). You don't need dates or stories. "I had sex outside of marriage, regularly, for several years" or "I stole from an employer, a few times" is a complete confession of that sin. The Church recommends confessing lesser sins too, but doesn't require it (can. 988 §2).

What counts as serious? A sin is mortal only when three things are all true: the matter is grave, you knew it was seriously wrong, and you chose it freely (CCC 1857 to 1859). Many converts find that some things they once did freely, they didn't know were wrong at the time. You don't have to sort out those questions alone. If you're unsure, confess it and say so, and the priest will help.

And anything you honestly forget is forgiven too. If it comes back to you later, mention it at your next confession.

How do I remember years of sins?

Spread the work over several evenings instead of one long night:

1. Divide your life into seasons: school, college, early jobs, relationships, marriage, the years before you started OCIA.
2. For each season, walk through the Ten Commandments. Our examination of conscience for adults has the questions, and how to do an examination of conscience explains the method.
3. Write a few words for each sin, with how often. A list, not a memoir.
4. Pray before and after. Ask the Holy Spirit for light, and stop when you're tired.

Some people like a little help with this. Holier: Catholic Confession is an iPhone app (iOS 17.6 or later; no Android) from Reconciled Software. It guides a short nightly examination of conscience as a chat in the Ignatian examen tradition, and anything you name goes onto a numbered confessional list that opens with "Bless me, Father." It also offers help in the moment of temptation and tracks the days since your last Confession and examen. Your sin list is encrypted on your iPhone with a key that never leaves it; conversations are processed to power the AI, then discarded. It's a free download, and full use takes a subscription of $7.99 a week, $79.99 a year or $149.99 once, with no free trial. It helps you prepare. Only a priest absolves.

What do I say at my first confession?

Tell the priest it's your first confession. He'll guide you from there. A simple pattern:

You can learn the prayer here: Act of Contrition. For more detail on each step, see how to go to Confession and what to say in Confession.

What will it feel like?

Probably nerve-racking beforehand. Nearly every adult convert says so, and it's completely normal (see scared of Confession?). Afterward, people describe relief, tears, lightness, or a quiet, plain gratitude. Feelings vary; the absolution doesn't.

Before Baptism or reception, it's also a good habit to begin a short daily examen: a few minutes each evening looking back on the day with God. It's the best preparation for a lifetime of Confession, and it makes every confession after the first one much lighter.