The Catholic Convert Starter Pack: 5 Meaningful Gifts for Someone Becoming Catholic

Becoming Catholic is a beginning.

There is so much to learn, so much to experience for the first time, and an entirely new world of traditions, prayers, saints, and sacramentals to discover.

So if someone you love is preparing to enter the Catholic Church, what do you give them?

Whether they’re going through OCIA, preparing for Baptism or Confirmation, or getting ready to be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil, we put together what we like to call the Catholic Convert Starter Pack: five meaningful gifts that can help them begin their new life as a Catholic.

1. A Rosary

If you’re building a Catholic starter pack, this is where we’d begin.

The Rosary is one of the most beloved prayers in the Catholic Church. Through its mysteries, we meditate on the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus alongside His mother, Mary.

And for me personally, the Rosary holds an especially important place in my heart.

Before I was Catholic, I found myself listening to the Rosary on the radio. I didn’t fully understand everything about the Catholic faith yet. But that prayer eventually led me through the doors of the Church—and ultimately to my own conversion.

Years later, it feels especially fitting that the very first products we made at The Little Catholic were rosaries.

For someone just entering the Church, a beautiful rosary isn’t simply a gift for the day they become Catholic. It’s something they can reach for throughout their entire life.

 

2. A Sacred Heart Necklace

The Sacred Heart of Jesus represents Christ’s immense and sacrificial love for humanity.

You’ll recognize the traditional image by the Heart of Christ, often depicted aflame, surrounded by the crown of thorns, and marked by the wound of the Cross.

For a new Catholic who is just beginning to discover the richness of Catholic imagery and tradition, a Sacred Heart necklace is a beautiful introduction to one of the Church’s most recognizable devotions.

More importantly, it gives them something they can carry close to their heart every day: a reminder of His.

 

3. A Miraculous Medal Bracelet

There are certain images you begin noticing everywhere once you enter a Catholic church—and the Miraculous Medal is one of them.

The medal originated from the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830. The image Mary requested would eventually become one of the most widely recognized Marian sacramentals in the world.

Giving a Miraculous Medal to someone becoming Catholic is a beautiful way to introduce them to the Church’s love for Mary and her role in continually pointing us toward her Son.

We especially love the idea of a Miraculous Medal bracelet for a new Catholic: simple enough for everyday wear, but filled with meaning they’ll continue discovering as their faith grows.

 

4. A Patron Saint Medal

One of the most exciting parts of preparing for Confirmation can be choosing a Confirmation saint.

For many converts, that saint becomes incredibly personal.

They may choose someone whose story resembles their own, a saint whose virtues they hope to imitate, or simply someone they feel inexplicably drawn toward.

That’s why a patron saint medal can be one of the most personal Catholic conversion gifts you can give.

If you know which saint they’ve chosen, find a medal depicting that saint. It becomes a small reminder that they’re joining not only the Catholics sitting beside them at Mass, but the communion of saints that came before them.

And if you don’t know their Confirmation saint yet? Ask. There is usually a story behind the choice.

5. A Catholic Bible

Finally, give them something they can grow into.

A Catholic Bible is a gift they’ll return to again and again as they continue learning their faith.

If they’re coming from another Christian tradition, they may already own a Bible. A Catholic edition, however, contains the complete Catholic canon of Scripture, including the deuterocanonical books.

Add a handwritten note inside the cover. Write the date they entered the Church. Include a favorite Scripture verse or a short prayer for their new beginning.

Years from now, that inscription may mean just as much as the Bible itself.

 

From One Convert to Another

There is something uniquely beautiful about becoming Catholic as an adult.

You remember walking into Mass when everything was unfamiliar.

You remember learning when to sit, stand, and kneel. You discover the saints. The sacraments. The liturgical seasons. Adoration. The Rosary. The beauty and history behind traditions Catholics before you may have known their entire lives.

I know because I’ve lived it.

The Rosary first drew me toward the Church, and that journey eventually led to my conversion to Catholicism—and, in a way I never could have anticipated at the time, to starting The Little Catholic.

So when I think about what to give someone becoming Catholic, I don’t think the most meaningful gift needs to be the biggest or most expensive.

Give them something they can use.

Something they can pray with.

Something that teaches them a little more about the faith they’ve chosen.

Something they might still have decades from now and remember:

This was given to me when I became Catholic.