Instructions for First Reconciliation

• Please dress your child appropriately.  No jeans, sweatpants or sneakers.

• Arrive fifteen minutes before your child’s scheduled time.  Confessions are scheduled for Saturday, March 9 and Saturday, March 16, 2024 at 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM on each Saturday.  The Rite of Reconciliation should take about one hour.

• Turn off all cell phones upon arrival.

• No photography of any kind during Confessions.  Photos may be taken afterward.

• While in Church, we ask that you try to keep conversations to a minimum.  We all know how loud a Church can become with so many nervous little ones.  Let them know that everything will be okay with a silent hug.

• Seat your family with your child’s religion class.  Pews will have signs with the teachers name and classroom numbers.

• There will be a short prayer service prior to individual Confessions.  At the end of this service, we will line up the children and their family members who wish to go to Confession.  Parents who will not receive the Sacrament may still escort their child to the Confessional.  Parents and other family members who will receive, please do so immediately after your child’s Confession.  We encourage family members to participate in this Sacrament.

• Review with your child the introductory words to the Priest, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  This is my first Confession and these are my sins.”  Prayer sheets with the words for both this introductory greeting and the Act of Contrition will be available for your child to take into the Confessional.  For the Act of Contrition and other prayers, click here:  Prayers to Know

• After your child’s Confession, he/she will return to the pew to say Penance prayers.  Children have been instructed  to wait for their parent to return from receiving the Sacrament.  After saying Penance prayers, you may exit the Church.

• After your child's Confession, please stop into the Holy Family Room to pick up your child's First Reconciliation Certificate and for a little reception with light refreshments.  All are welcome!