First Holy Communion & Confirmation Update

Published on March 22, 2021

March 2021

Dear parents and guardians,

We hope that those who have sent students in the junior classes back to school last week are settling into the routine again, and that those waiting to return are looking forward to going back to class. Hopefully the return will be as enjoyable and safe as possible for students, teachers and families.

Last Thursday, members of the Parish Team met via Zoom with the principals of all the Primary Schools in our parishes to discuss the preparation for and the celebration of the Sacraments in Naas, Sallins and Two Mile House in 2021.

Taking into consideration the new variants of Covid 19 now present in the community, and the greater levels of transmission which they seem to exhibit, and with the likelihood of restrictions remaining in place until well into the summer, we have decided to postpone setting any dates for First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation. We really want to avoid having to postpone and reschedule with all the stress and disappointment that this involves for everybody.

We will enter into the Kildare and Leighlin Diocesan Programme of preparation, beginning on Thursday 18th March with a Penitential Service for the First Communion Classes and on Thursday 25th March with the Launch of the Confirmation Preparation Programme. Both of these will be via WebCam from the Cathedral in Carlow, and we will send the link and any other information closer to the time.

We envisage celebrating First Confession, First Holy Communion and Confirmation with your children during the Autumn months.

All the preparations will continue, at home, in school and in the parish, and we look forward to setting dates and being able to celebrate with you once the restrictions are lessened. Since the celebration of the Sacraments will take place outside of the school, the parish will need to be able to contact parents/guardians with information. We hope to set up a parish WhatsApp group to allow for details to be shared with you directly. Please fill in the form you received from your child’s school and return to your child’s teacher or to the Parish Office, either by email to [email protected] or by dropping them into the letterbox in the parish office in Naas by 28th March. Thank you.