30th August 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I write to you at the beginning of this school year in relation to the Registration & Request of your child for the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion in 2024. Your child must be baptised into the Roman Catholic Church in order to be eligible for the Sacraments. We recognise that children may be baptised in another Christian Church / Denomination who will not be receiving First Holy Communion.

With First Reconciliation (First Confession) and First Holy Communion your child will come to know Jesus in a new way. As Roman Catholic parents you presented your child for Baptism and made a commitment to bring them up in faith. Please give serious consideration to your choice of presenting your child for the sacraments, ensuring that the choice is an honest one which honours commitment to faith. There is no obligation on any family to present their child for the sacraments.

All Registrations & Requests for First Reconciliation (Confession) and Frist Holy Communion are now made only online by means of a Registration & Request Google Form directly to the parish on the Parish Website. In some family situations, both parents / guardians may wish to ‘Submit’ a Registration & Request Google Form with your contact details.

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Please ‘Submit’ this Registration & Request Google Form immediately or at the very latest by 15th September 2023.

Your child’s Baptismal Certificate from the Parish of Baptism will be needed, as evidence of a Roman Catholic Baptism. If you do not have a copy of the Baptismal Certificate, please contact the parish of your child’s baptism for a Baptismal Certificate immediately. For children baptised in the Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Firhouse, we will once again check the baptismal details of all children baptised in the Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Firhouse. If by any chance your child has not receive the Sacrament of Baptism, you should contact immediately the parish you are living in to arrange their baptism.

Please do not give the Baptismal Certificate to the catechist but directly to me by email attachment or drop it into the Parish Office between 9.30 am – 4 pm where a photocopy will be taken of it. If you wish to email me the Baptismal Certificate, use the email address firhouseparishsaf@gmail.com to send a scanned copy or a photo of the Baptismal Certificate to me directly. As the Registration & Request Google Form requires you to give me a contact email address, I will be able to contact you by email if I need to.

Regarding preparation for the Sacraments, we are delighted to be taking part in the new Seeds of Faith programme of preparation which is being piloted by the diocese. It is a programme which the children will enjoy and will provide parents with supports through which to engage in supporting the children. We will inform you of the cost of the course of preparation when registration is complete.

In order for safeguarding to be protected it will be necessary for two parents to be present in the building where the Seeds of Faith catechesis will occur. We are obliged to conform with this necessity. Please indicate, on the Registration & Request Google Form, if you can be available to be rostered for presence at some of the classes.

The Seeds of Faith classes will begin in the first week of October (date / date to be confirmed) and look forward to meeting you at the Preparation Meeting for all parents in a few weeks.

I encourage you, either in your own parish or another parish, to partake in Saturday Evening or Sunday Mass, as your family with your child prepare to celebrate First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.

Yours sincerely,

Peter J Reilly

Fr Peter Reilly PP