First Communion Information

Communion Dates:  Parents receive the date/time of their child's First Communion Mass at the First Communion Parent Meetings in October.  Parents may change the date by requesting the change in writing.  Email abraun@st-edwards.org.  You will receive a confirmation of the change in a reply email.

Mass Rehearsals:  Rehearsals take place in the Church and last approximately one and one half hours.  A parent/guardian must stay with the child for the entire session.  ALL of the First Communicants will help set the altar table and present the gifts for our Eucharistic celebration.  It is most important that the First Communicant and a parent attend the rehearsal so that the child can practice his or her assigned role in preparing the altar.  Click the following link to see the Rehearsal date for your child's First Communion Mass:  FHC Mass Dates and Rehearsals

Dress Code:  Boys wear suits or dress pants with blazer, tie and dress shoes.  Arm bands are optional.  Girls wear white dresses and dress shoes.  Veils are optional.  Because the children receive the host in their bare hands, girls may not carry flowers or wear gloves when processing up to the altar to receive the Host.

Time of Arrival:  Children receiving First Communion must arrive thirty minutes before the assigned Mass time.  Drop off child(ren) in the Holy Family Room.  Our photographer will take individual photos of each First Communicant before they line up for the procession to the Church.  In case of rain on First Communion Day, First Communicants will assemble in the Church Lobby.

Reception of Eucharist:  We instruct the children to receive the Eucharist in the palm of their hand.  They learn that by cupping their hands, they create a throne in which to place the Lord.  We tell them to place the hand they eat with underneath the other hand and to use the eating hand to place the Eucharist in the mouth.  Children will practice with unconsecrated wafers, so they become familiar with the taste and texture.  If you want your child to receive the Eucharist on his or her tongue, please call Mrs. Rosemary Pettei at the office (516-921-8543 x125) so that we may give appropriate instruction to your child.

When it's time for the children to receive Communion, a staff member will instruct them to rise and step out into the aisles.  One child at a time will approach the bottom step of the sanctuary, bow to the altar, and then go to the top step to receive Communion.  This will enable parents to get a nice view of their child receiving Communion.  After the child receives, he or she will return to the pew, but on the opposite end.  Once all of the First Communicants receive, parents and other family members will be invited to do so.  As the family leaves the pew to receive, the First Communion child will be able to move down the row to his or her original seat.  The children will practice this during the Mass Rehearsal.

Seating:  Each family is assigned two rows.  Each row can accommodate about ten people.  The First Communicant must sit closest to the center aisle.  Rows are assigned as follows:  Even years are Z to A and odd years are A to Z (based on the child's last name).  Please advise our office if you have any attending who must use a wheelchair.  We will make special accommodations.

Readers:  If any parent or catechist would like to assist us as a Reader for one of the First Communion liturgies, please call the Religious Education Office at 516-921-8543.

Relatives who are Priests, Deacons, EMs, Altar Servers:  Please call Mrs. Rosemary Pettei (516-921-8543 x125) if you have any such family members who would like to assist at our Eucharistic Liturgies.

Banners:  Banner Kits are distributed at the April Parent Meeting.  Please refer to the instructions and suggestions in the First Communion Banner Kit.  The child's FIRST name goes on the banner.  Bring the banner to Church on your child's First Communion day and hang it on the end of the pew.  You do not need to bring the banner to the Mass Rehearsal.

Photography:  We do not allow ANY photographs to be taken during the Mass (this includes cell phone photography).  We have a professional photographer (Josephine Rose Photography) take individual and candid shots (throughout the liturgy) at no cost to our families.  About two weeks after the Mass, photos will be posted on the photographer's web site and are available free of charge for download.  We will email families when the links to the Photo Galleries become available.  In addition, videos on either a DVD or Flash Drive, are available on order (for a fee) from our Videographer, James Doukas Productions.  Order forms for will be available at the Mass Rehearsals.  You may take as many photos as you wish, inside or out of the Church, before the ceremony starts or after it is over.

Photo Board:  We ask that each child submit a small photo (no larger than wallet size) for our First Communion Display Board.  We place the Display Board in the Church Lobby, so that the children can see their photos when they enter the Church.  As soon as posssible, please submit a wallet-size photo to the child's teacher or drop it off in the Religious Education Office.

Communion Fee:  There is a $100 fee per child to help cover the costs associated with the First Communions.  We ask that this fee be paid by mid-March.

Reverence:  Please encourage family members and friends to save conversation for outside.

God's Blessings as our

First Communicants and their families

prepare for this very special day!