1st Holy Communion - Advice please!

I find it very difficult to believe that secondary school requires a child to be confirmed when generally a child is 10-14 when confirmation is done. When I did it, only year 6 and years 7-9 at the secondary schools participated. This was because the confirmation was carried out by the Bishop of the diocese and he could only get round to the group of schools every 4 years (size of diocese)

I am also surprised that the communion class is held within school hours as I thought it was an after school class nowadays due to the numbers of non-catholics attending primary schools, it certainly is where I now live.

As for your child supporting classmates, I haven't a clue what support you think is needed 🙂 just an oh well done, and a 'did you enjoy it?' after the event - and maybe assistance in working out what sins to confess to for first confession

I can advise that in Ireland the children have classroom based learning about the sacrament and about once a month the normal Sunday mass the children take active roles such as readings and prayers, parents are involved in these masses also.
then closer to the communion date the children have their first confession with the priest usually followed 1-2 weeks later by the first holy communion mass

My DD’s best friend from birth had her first holy communion here in Ireland where it’s big and all the girls dressed like mini brides. It was a big day for her friend so we made a huge effort and dressed our DD in an ivory trouser suit. Her friend’s school were so good to her they even had a place at the party table despite not even going to the school!

I don’t live in the uk but friends do, and when they were enrolling their children into the local catholic school the requirements were quite strict; they had to attend mass every Sunday without fail and be baptised catholic. it is interesting that the school your child attends sounds much more lenient.
where I live. ROI, there are mixed faiths in the schools so it is normal for some children not to take part in the communion sacrament

Your child cannot be baptised at this age if neither parent is Catholic/ have an intention to raise the child as a Catholic so the issue will not arise.

Your lack of knowledge on this subject is astonishing OP, considering you actively chose to send your child to a catholic school and she is now in Year 3, which is the year that they start preparing to receive their First Holy Communion!

I suggest you do some research - you are making a lot of assumptions here. You’ve already said that many of the children aren’t Catholic - if this is true, they won’t be able to receive their First Holy Communion. They may receive a blessing if their families wish for them to take part in the service, but that’s all.

Speak to the school and the local priest, be curious about what you have actually signed your child up for.

Confirmed?

Confirmation happens when the child is older, ie secondary school age, around 12 years old. They basically confirm their faith as Catholic.

Being baptised and making your first holy communion still wouldn’t put you in the priority category.

You shouldn’t become a catholic just to get into your preferred school either.

Not everywhere- in Scotland you only need to attend the catholic primary to get automatic admission to the secondary.

She can’t do it anyway if she isn’t baptised. I remember a kerfuffle in one of my dcs year when one parent had lost her ds’s baptism certificate and was struggling to get the copy from the church in Poland where she hadn’t been for years. Most classes even in schools with almost all Catholic kids will have some not doing it. Ds’s friend was “held back” to do it with his sibling in the year below, some attended a different church and did it there, some went to their home country and did it there. It’s a real sacrament like marriage or baptism and she would need to do first reconciliation before first Holy communion. It’s not just something they do by in y3 like going on a field trip to the space centre or doing Egyptians.

She won’t be able to take part if she isn’t baptised, and it’s the lack of baptism that’ll rule out most Catholic secondary schools.

Unless your child has been baptised in a Catholic Church, Holy Communion isn’t an option for them.

They will be required to show their baptismal certificate at some point.

The First Holy Communion is a time for catholics to receive the Body of Christ for the first time.

I would suggest talking to the school. It is likely that they encounter this situation regularly & have established ways of managing it. Presumably your child is not a baptised catholic, so the issue should not arise. They will automatically opt out, and they probably won’t be the only one.

Additionally, holy communion is not a Catholic ‘tradition’. It is a holy sacrament, and therefore a fundamental part of the practice of the faith.

1.have you actually checked most children are doing the communion? Because it is unlikely now. When I was at catholic primary we were all catholic but it’s very different now.

2.Have you checked the criteria for entrance to the secondary? Usually it isn’t on the basis of having done all the sacraments but is on the basis of being at the catholic primary.

3.Holy Communion is about committing to the catholic ethos and practice. It’s generally a commitment required by both child and parent because it requires a lot of mass attendance in preparation. Moreover, if your child has not been baptised in the catholic faith they cannot do holy communion. So I’m surprised you think they have the choice to.

Peer pressure is not a good reason to participate in a religious ritual. If the students or teachers will treat him differently, the school really has no business operating. Even children of religious parents have the right to choose their own beliefs.

I’m catholic and I don’t think you’d even be able to do it if not baptised

Is your child baptised into the Catholic Church? She will need to be before she can receive her first holy communion in any case. I went to a catholic school but I’m non/ catholic, there were a few of us, we learned what was happening but didn’t take part.