First Holy Communion

Preparation Of The Parents

Parents will need to attend and complete the Anchor Course before their children can enter the First Holy Communion programme.

This is to help parents be prepared so that the home aids in the formation for the children who wish to receive their First Holy Communion.

First Holy Communion Course

This course is for children who have been baptised and who are currently aged 7 or 8 years old - so your child will currently be in School Year 2 or Year 3. Children also need to be attending Mass every Sunday and Holy Day in this Parish, with their parent(s).

For those who are already 9 years old or older who have not yet been baptised and would like to receive the Sacrament of First Holy Communion, please see below for further information.

Course Requirements

Parents of children wishing to join this course will need the following:

  • Complete an Anchor Course in this Parish before they are eligible to sign their child up for First Confession / First Communion preparation.

  • Read and confirm by completing the Covenant of Parents/Guardians form and agree to the conditions outlined on the Parents Covenant Form.

  • Ensure your children have a set of rosary beads as we begin each session with the Rosary.

Course Dates

The dates for the next course, including the dates for the Sacraments, will always be found on the First Holy Communion Course under Latest News.

We run four sessions to prepare children for First Holy Communion as follows:

  • Session 1: Why did God give the Sacraments to the Catholic Church?

  • Session 2: Covering the Sacraments in more depth.

  • Session 3: The Mass makes present the Paschal Mystery.

  • Session 4: An overall view of the three sessions.

These sessions are normally in the Hall at St Mary Magdalene, Stony Stratford on Saturdays between 9.45 am - 1 pm.

Course Application

If you have fulfilled the requirement to do an Anchor Course in this Parish (or are currently registered for the next Anchor course), please complete the Application Form to register your interest in joining the next available course.

Please note that the application form for the First Holy Communion course requires you to upload a copy of your child’s baptism certificate - please make sure you have a digital copy of that to hand when you fill out the form.

Contacting the First Holy Communion Team

Please complete the form below if you have any questions or to request further details.

Please do not hesitate to contact the First Holy Communion catechists if you have any questions or to request further details.

By submitting your information, you consent to be contacted by us should we need to ask any questions.

More about the First Holy Communion Course

The first session takes place in May, the second session is in November and the third session is in January.

This is followed by First Confession which takes place on the Saturday of the 4th week of Lent at St Francis de Sales Church in Wolverton. Finally, we have First Holy Communion which takes place in June on a Sunday.

First Session in May

Why did God give the Sacraments to the Catholic Church?

The Four Pillars of the Catholic Faith

  • The Creed - The Truths of the story of Salvation

  • Liturgy and Sacraments - How we enter into the story

  • The 10 Commandments - How we stay in the story

  • The Lord's Prayer - How the story enters us

Worksheets on the Apostles Creed

Second Session in November

Covering the Sacraments in more depth

  • The Ten Commandments

  • Sacraments and sacramentals

  • Sacraments in the Church

Worksheets on the Ten Commandments,

Third Session in January

The Mass makes present the Paschal Mystery

Types of Sacrifices in the Old Testament and how Our Lord Jesus fulfils, completes and supersedes them

  • The three types of sacrifice:

    • Harvest; Ox, goat or lamb; and human beings!

  • The Jewish Passover

  • The Last Supper

The Paschal Mystery

  • Palm Sunday - The selection of the lamb of Passover

  • Holy Thursday & Last Supper

  • Good Friday - Jesus is the lamb to be offered

  • Easter Sunday - The Resurrection

First Holy Communion For Other Age Groups

A young person who is 9 years old and above and who has not been baptised or has not made their First Holy Communion, will need to attend the RCIA Youth course. Further details can be found here.

If you are an adult who is not a baptised Catholic or if you are an adult who is a Catholic but you have not made your First Holy Communion and are inquiring about the Eucharist, you will need to attend the RCIA course. Further details can be found here.

“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”

St. Maximilian Kolbe