First Holy Communion for Children

First Holy Communion is our great and joyous meal of love, unity and thanksgiving.

We, at Sacred Heart, are pleased to partner with parents in a great responsibility, educating their children in the Catholic faith. Our program is rooted in family life, supported by catechesis in the GIFT program, workshops and celebrated with the church community.

Preparation for First Holy Communion is a two-year program (typically grades 1-2*), with our formal preparation beginning in the 2nd year.

In Grade 1* (or their 1st year of preparation) the child will attend the GIFT program with at least one parent. Weekly Mass attendance, participating in the Children’s Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) are essential in the preparation process.

In Grade 2* (or their 2nd year of preparation) the child and parent(s) attend the GIFT program and participate in liturgy as described in the 1st year program. Formal preparation for First Reconciliation (confession) and First Eucharist consists of four additional Sacrament-focused workshops. These are attended by the parent(s) and child. There will be time for prayer, group activities, discussion and practice on how to celebrate the Sacraments.  First Reconciliation is celebrated before a child celebrates his/her First Holy Communion.

*This is a typical age for Sacramental preparation but our program accommodates and welcomes all children and teens into age-appropriate faith formation for celebrating the Sacraments

Home Preparation Materials

Much of the spiritual preparation for the Sacraments is done by the families themselves.  The idea of this approach is that parents are the primary educators of their children’s faith,  We seek to help families create opportunities to pray, to discuss, and to do activities that nurture their child’s faith.

Liturgical Celebrations

The culmination of this preparation process is the celebration of the Sacraments. The celebration of Reconciliation will be in December/January and the celebration of the Eucharist is in May.  It is important that the children view this as just the beginning of celebrating these Sacraments regularly.

We delight in sharing this significant time in your family’s ongoing faith development. We pray you will be enriched in faith by the experience.  For more information please contact the Faith Formation Office at 203-264-5065 or email Ami Conlan.