Gifts for Someone Becoming Catholic
Someone you love is coming into the Church. Here is how to mark it well.
Someone you know is becoming Catholic. Maybe you are their sponsor, or a godparent, or just a friend who wants to mark the moment. It is a real milestone, usually the end of a long year of learning, and it deserves a gift that means something. Here is how to choose one well.
First, the moment you are marking
Most adults come into the Church through a process still widely known as RCIA, and now formally called OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. It usually runs across a school year and finishes at the Easter Vigil, the great night before Easter Sunday, when they are baptized or received, confirmed, and receive Communion for the first time. That is the day most gifts are given, so the shopping season is Lent and early spring.
Two small things worth knowing. Someone who has never been baptized is a catechumen. Someone already baptized in another Christian tradition is a candidate. It rarely changes what you give, but it is nice to understand what your friend is walking toward.
A good Catholic Bible
If you give one thing, this is the classic. A Catholic Bible includes seven books that most Protestant editions leave out, so look for a Catholic edition rather than assuming any Bible will do. The Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition and the New American Bible are both easy to find and easy to read. Have their name pressed on the cover if you want it to last a lifetime, because it often does.
A rosary
A rosary is the gift almost every Catholic remembers receiving. It is personal, it lasts, and it comes at every price, from a simple cord to something you would hand down. If your friend is new to it, pair it with a small booklet or card on how to pray it, since the beads are easier to hold than to begin.
Something tied to their patron saint
Part of coming into the Church is choosing a confirmation name, usually a saint the person has come to love. If you know which saint your friend chose, a gift built around that name is about as personal as it gets: a medal, an icon, a good biography, or a print. It says you were paying attention. If they are still deciding, getting to know a few saints is a gift in itself, and a modern one like St. Carlo Acutis is an easy place for a new Catholic to start.
A crucifix or an icon for the home
A new Catholic is often making a home look and feel Catholic for the first time. A well-made crucifix for the wall, or a simple icon for a shelf or bedside, becomes part of daily life in a way a book on the shelf may not. Choose something you would be glad to see every day, because they will.
A prayer book they will actually open
The first year is full of new prayers, and a good guide helps. A simple Catholic prayer book or a beginner-friendly devotional is more useful to most new Catholics than a heavy volume. If they are the studious type who wants the whole picture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or the friendlier YouCat, will keep them reading for a long time.
The gift of the saints, arriving all year
One of the first things a new Catholic meets is the communion of saints, the huge and surprising family they have just joined. Getting to know that family a little at a time is a gentle way in, which is exactly what a Saints by Mail subscription offers: one saint each month, printed and mailed, with no screen and no rush. It keeps arriving long after the Easter Vigil, which is a kind thing to give someone at the very start of the road.
A few things to keep in mind
The best gift here is personal, not expensive. A five dollar medal that matches their saint will be treasured longer than something costly and generic. If you are the sponsor, remember that your steady presence is the real gift, and anything you hand over is only a token of it. And when in doubt, ask their sponsor or a Catholic friend what would fit; people are glad to help you get it right.
Whatever you choose, the point is the same. Someone is beginning something that will shape the rest of their life, and you are telling them you are glad to be there for it.
A saint like this, every month
This is the sort of story in every issue of Saints by Mail: printed, reverent, and mailed to your door. A thoughtful gift for godchildren, families, and anyone who loves the saints.