Sacramental Preparation

At St Martin's one of the higlights of the year is the celebration of the sacraments of First Forgiveness and First Holy Communion. We work closely with the parents and families to prepare our Year 3 children so they fully understand the importance of these special occasions.

This is a very special year for your child as they continue on their faith journey and prepare for their First Holy Communion. Your child will complete much of this preparation in school during their religious education lessons and participation in prayer and liturgy.

Pope Francis has said he would like parents/carers to be more involved in sacramental preparation for their children and for schools to work closely with their parish communities.

As parents/ carers you are the first and most important teachers for your child and it is important that you play a key role in their preparation. During the preparation year parents/carers and their children are asked to attend Mass regularly.

Enrolment Mass Saturday 23rd November St Augustine’s or Sunday 24th November St Martin’s and Our Lady’s

This year we will be using a more flexible model as we understand that it is hard to attend on set dates due to different commitments. Therefore, we are asking that all children attend Mass at least once a month and a total of ten times between enrolment and the communion date.  Children should see the catechist at the end of Mass to receive a sticker and get marked on the register. We hope this will make it easier for our families to attend.

Mass times are as follows:

Saturday 5 pm at St Augustine’s Church

Sunday 9am at St Martin’s Church

Sunday 11am at Our Lady’s Church.

Children will be welcomed at any of the weekend Masses held in each of our 3 churches.

If your child requires the Sacrament of Baptism please collect a form from church, baptisms will take place on Sunday 9th February 2025 or Sunday 16th February 2025 or you can arrange for a baptism to take place at any of the school Masses.

Key Dates

First Forgiveness

St Martin’s Wednesday 12th February 2025

First Holy Communion

St Martin’s Saturday 21st  June

Sunday 22nd June joint Communion celebration Mass followed by a procession – this will be held at Our Lady’s Church 11am Mass

Baptism for next year

If your child has not been baptised you will need to contact Father Emeka to arrange this, children must receive the sacrament of baptism before they can receive First Holy Communion. Forms can be collected from the school office and details for contacting Father Emeka can be found on the Divine Saviour Parish website