The Diocese of Prince Albert has restored the order of the sacraments of initiation for children. This means that the sacrament of confirmation is to be received at the same celebration as the child's first Eucharist. At the same time, families come to our Diocese and join our parishes from other dioceses who have not restored the order of the sacraments; therefore, options for preparing children for confirmation who have already received their first Eucharist are provided. Please remember that this is to be the exception not the norm in our Diocese.
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Access the sheet with the suggested material for sacramental preparation by clicking on the link to the left. clicking the link to the left..
Also when older children are brought forward to become fully initiated into the faith community, the norm is that they go through an age-appropriate RCIA journey. The recommended age to place an uninitiated child into an RCIA program is between 10-12 years old depending on the child's maturity and the family's own faith journey. If you have questions about this, please call me.
It is recommended that the preparation for children to complete their initiation occurs over a three-year period with the year prior to actual preparation focused on the first year of the Finding God resource.
Year 1 covers first year of the Finding God resource with their peers
Year 2 covers the second year of the Finding God resource and prepares for and celebrates their first Reconciliation
Year 3 covers the third year of the Finding God resource and prepares for and celebrates their Confirmation and first Eucharist.
Year 4 and following: Families are encouraged to continue the faith formation of their children using the Finding God resources.
At this time, this schedule does not apply to children who are in Catholic schools as they are receiving ongoing, age-appropriate catechesis throughout their school years. Children attending Catholic schools will receive all three sacraments during their Grade 2 year.
Preparation for reception of the sacraments is to happen in the parish.
It is the Diocesan guideline that parents attend sacramental preparation classes with their children whether the child is attending a Catholic school or not.
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If you have any questions please contact me via phone at 306-922-4747 extension 227 or via email by clicking on the link to the left.
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Also, I offer a 75-minute parish presentation on the role of parents in the faith development of their child. This presentation emphasizes that the sacraments of initiation are just that, initiation into the faith community and that life-long catechesis is the Catholic faith journey once one is initiated into the community of believers. Please click on the link to the left to send me an email if you would like to hear more about this presentation, or if you would like to have me come out to your parish.
Finally, in parish communities where there is no access for families to send their children to Catholic schools, the parish is responsible for creating opportunities for the faith development of the children. See more about Children's Catechetical Programs below.