Skip to main content
Catholics RDC

Ut unum sintJohn 17:21

Official platform of the Catholic Church in the DRC

Keep the Church's registers with care and serve the parishes every day.

Catholics RDC brings together the sacramental register, parish administration and spiritual accompaniment. It serves the parish and the chancery, the diocese and the National Episcopal Conference of Congo, on one simple rule: only the register is authoritative.

47
dioceses already set up across the six ecclesiastical provinces
4
canonical books kept as required by can. 535
7
languages for the register and for prayer

Principles

One platform for the whole Church in the country, where each tool keeps its place.

Each module has a clear task. Parish administration does not copy the registers. The register is not used as a directory. Spiritual accompaniment stays confidential. This separation protects the faithful and the value of each record.

Built for the Catholic Church

Roles, terms and approval steps follow how parishes and dioceses in Congo actually work.

One piece of information, one place

A member of the faithful is entered once. Each module keeps only what concerns it, with no copies that could drift apart.

A trace for every action

Rights granted by role, successive approvals and an audit log: you always know who did what, and when.

Modules

Three modules, each with its own task.

Parish management

Parish administration

The temporal life of the parish: the faithful, Masses, finances and pastoral care. It reads the register but never changes it.

  • Faithful and families, attendance, transfers between parishes
  • Offerings, Church contribution, budgets and OHADA accounting
  • Youth, catechesis, events and messages to the faithful
Spiritual life

Spiritual companion

To pray with the parish and to be accompanied: verified prayers, the rosary, the liturgical calendar and prayer intentions.

  • Prayers whose source is checked by the clergy
  • Computed liturgical calendar and an intentions wall reviewed before publication
  • Confidential accompaniment: only the companion reads their journal

In detail

What the platform does today.

All of these features are in use. They are shared among the three modules, and the register remains the only authoritative source.

Sacramental registers and canonical records What is authoritative in canon law
Register of baptisms (Liber baptizatorum)

Records numbered by parish and by year, with folio and page. Entry checks the conditions for baptism and those for godparents (can. 535 § 1, 877).

Register of confirmations (Liber confirmatorum)

Prior baptism is required, a second confirmation is refused and the minister's faculty is checked (can. 535 § 1, 879-896).

Register of first communions

The customary register of first communions, linked to each child's baptism record.

Register of marriages (Liber matrimoniorum)

Both parties, the canonical form, the witnesses and the assisting minister, with his delegation where needed (can. 1121).

Register of the deceased (Liber defunctorum)

Date of death, funeral, place of burial and minister. The person is then shown as deceased across the whole platform (can. 1182).

Marginal notes

Confirmation and marriage are noted in the margin of the baptism record, in the same operation (can. 535 § 2).

Notices between parishes

The parish of baptism is informed automatically. For a parish not yet on the platform, an A4 letter on diocesan letterhead is produced and followed up (can. 895, 1122).

Marriage file and banns

Religion of the parties, recent baptism certificates, three publications of the banns and dispensations, followed step by step (can. 1067).

Impediments to marriage

Canonical age, prior bond, disparity of cult, mixed marriage: the office is alerted, without blocking what falls under a dispensation (can. 1083-1086, 1124).

Verifiable certificates

Extracts, full copies and international formats. Each one carries a QR code that any recipient can check online (can. 535 § 3).

Access to records

Recent records are released only to those entitled to them. Every consultation and every certificate issued leaves a trace.

Annual closures

At the end of the year, the parish closes its registers. Records are locked and an authentic duplicate goes to the curia (can. 535 § 4).

Catechumenate and baptism requests

The catechumens' path follows the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Each baptism request is followed until it is entered in the register (can. 851, 865).

Tamper-proof records

Each record receives a digital fingerprint and is locked once entered. Any later change would be detected at once.

Annual statistics

The year's figures by parish and for the diocese, compared with the previous year and ready to export for the Annuarium.

Parish administration Day-to-day temporal management
Faithful and families

One file per person, with status, family and the main stages of life, and a membership card in PDF.

Attendance and transfers

Attendance recorded for one person or a whole group, and transfers between parishes with a covering letter.

Masses and homilies

Scheduling of Masses with their order, feedback after the celebration and a library of homilies.

Choir

Choir members by voice part, repertoire, rehearsals and song sheets prepared for each moment of the Mass.

Offerings and Church contribution

Each gift is recorded with its receipt. Donors receive a yearly statement.

Expenses and accounting

Expenses approved in stages, budgets by financial year and the OHADA chart of accounts, in Congolese francs as well as foreign currencies.

Pastoral care and groups

Visits, social cases and intentions entrusted to the priest, as well as follow-up of fraternities and neighbourhood groups.

Youth and catechesis

Children and young people grouped in classes, check-in and check-out, incident log.

Staff and volunteers

Paid staff and volunteers, the services they give and their schedules.

Property and communication

Buildings, rooms, equipment and vehicles. Messages by SMS, email or WhatsApp, sent after approval.

Preparing celebrations

The practical organisation of baptisms, marriages and funerals. The record itself is entered in the sacramental register.

Reports and members' area

Dashboards, finance and attendance reports, and an online area where each member finds their profile, their gifts and upcoming events.

Prayer and accompaniment The spiritual life of the faithful
Verified prayers

The Church's great prayers, in several languages, each with its source and the clergy's approval.

Pages open to all

Prayers can be read without an account or sign-in, by anyone who wishes to pray or to discover the faith.

Rosary

The four sets of mysteries, presented one by one, and a rosary guided bead by bead.

Liturgical year

Easter, movable feasts, liturgical seasons and colours computed for each day, with the saint of the day.

Prayer intentions

The community posts its intentions, anonymously if wished. They are reviewed before being published.

Sharing groups

Groups for sharing the faith, led and moderated by the clergy.

Spiritual accompaniment

A member of the faithful asks to be accompanied and the clergy appoints a companion. Only that companion reads the journal of meetings.

Personal space for the faithful

Intentions, groups and accompaniment in one place. Each person sees only what concerns them.

Common foundation What holds everything together
One person, one file

A member's identity is entered once and shared by the three modules.

The register is authoritative

Administration and accompaniment read the sacramental status. They never change it (can. 535).

Hierarchy already in place

CENCO, the six ecclesiastical provinces and the forty-seven dioceses are already set up, with their deaneries, their parishes and the clergy directory.

Several languages

The register and the spiritual companion speak seven languages, including Swahili and Latin. Parish administration is in French and English.

Data separated by diocese

Each diocese sees only its own data and sets its own preferences, including its language.

Rights and audit log

Rights are granted by role. The audit log is kept for as long as the diocese decides.

Canon law

Every register kept according to the 1983 Code.

Official numbering, marginal notes added in the same operation, records sealed as soon as they are entered. Certificates and extracts come only from the register, because it alone is authoritative.

Authoritative registers Rights by role Audit log Members' area
BaptismLiber baptizatorum · can. 877
ConfirmationLiber confirmatorum · can. 895
MarriageLiber matrimoniorum · can. 1121
BurialLiber defunctorum · can. 1182
Notesin the margin of the baptism record · can. 535 § 2

Coming next

The next steps.

The platform keeps growing with the dioceses. These projects build on what already works, without removing anything.

  1. Today

    Three modules in use

    Sacramental register, parish administration and spiritual companion, already used by the dioceses.

  2. In preparation

    A single space for the faithful

    Sacraments and certificates on one side, intentions and accompaniment on the other, on the same page.

    Mass intentions and offerings

    A member asks for an intention and makes an offering. The parish assigns it to a Mass and keeps the register of offerings (can. 945-958).

  3. Coming next

    Electronic signature of records

    The parish priest, the chancellor or the bishop signs online, and each document issued carries proof of its authenticity.

    Email and SMS reminders

    A reminder of pending requests and a weekly summary for the parish priest.

    Certificates in the diocese's own style

    Each diocese will be able to adapt the layout of its certificates.

  4. Under study

    Curia registers

    A tool for nullity notes and the register of marriages celebrated in secret, kept by the curia (can. 1133).

Roll-out

A step-by-step roll-out, one diocese at a time.

01

Survey

Parishes, authorised staff, approval steps and existing archives.

02

Configure

Modules, languages, rights and email templates specific to the diocese.

03

Bring in existing records

Faithful, parishes and paper registers are imported step by step, with checks on every batch.

04

Train

The chancery, parish offices and pastoral teams, until they work on their own.

Official platform

Already serving the Church in the DRC.

Authorised dioceses, parishes and parish offices can use it now. For access or a diocesan partnership, write to the chancery.