MANLY FRESHWATER PARISH SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMS 2025
Sacrament of Reconciliation will be celebrated in late March, the times is to be confirmed.
The Sacrament of First Holy Communion will be celebrated on Saturday 21st June at 11.30am and will be held at both Mary Immaculate Church Manly and St John the Baptist Church Freshwater.
Reconciliation and First Holy Communion Parent Meeting will be held at
Manly - Tuesday 11th February 2025 at 7pm
Freshwater - Thursday 20th February at 7pm
Sacrament of Confirmation the date is still to be advised by the Bishop's Office.
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In our Parish, which is part of the Diocese of Broken Bay, the order in which children receive the Sacraments of Initiation after Baptism is Confirmation, followed by Reconciliation and finally Eucharist (Holy Communion). This completes their full initiation into the Church.
Therefore, the "Children’s Sacramental Program" is a three-stage process, which normally runs over a 12-18 month period. Children who are baptised Catholics and 8 years of age or older are eligible to join the program.
Children usually begin the program whilst in Year 3 by preparing for and receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. After Confirmation, the children prepare for Reconciliation. They usually conclude the program in Year 4 by preparing for and receiving the Sacrament of Eucharist (Holy Communion).
It is not unusual however, for families to approach us with older children who have missed out on one or more of these sacraments for all kinds of reasons: moving house or area, overseas travel or living, etc. If this is your situation, or if you would like to know more about the Children's Sacramental Program, we warmly invite your to contact Michelle Ellis our Parish Sacramental Co-ordinator at michelle.ellis@bbcatholic.org.au or call (02) 9977 5822 to discuss how we can help prepare your children for these Sacraments.