First Holy Communion

Congratulations!

We would like to offer our congratulations to the children who have recently received their First Holy Communion. It has been a pleasure to assist your parents in preparing you for this wonderful occasion and we look forward to seeing you all at Mass as you come back again and again to receive Jesus. We will continue to pray for you and your families, and we ask that you remember us in your prayers too.

New Registrations for 2026-27

We are now welcoming registrations for the coming year. The course will run from September 2026 to May 2027, with First Holy Communion celebrations at the end of May and throughout June 2027. The course includes First Confession, which is celebrated in late January/early February.

We look forward to supporting you and your family as you bring your child forward to receive the sacraments. It is a great blessing for us and our parish that we can journey together during this special year in your child’s life.

In order to register for this year's course to receive First Holy Communion in summer 2027, children must be at least the age to enter school Year 3 in September 2026 (i.e. born on or before 31st August 2019). The course book we use is aimed at Year 3 children, but we use a variety of resources to accompany this so our course is suitable for anyone in Years 3-6. Older children are also very welcome, but please email us after completing the registration form so that we can discuss the right approach.

If you have any queries, please email us at olemfirstcommunion@rcdea.org.uk.

On registration, you will need to give the date and parish of your child’s Baptism. We will need to see your child’s original Baptism certificate at their first class (not a photocopy or electronic version). If you do not have their original Baptism certificate, please contact the parish where they were baptised and request a replacement certificate as soon as possible; these things can take time, especially if the parish is abroad.

If your child is not yet baptised, you can enter this detail on the form and the parish will work with you to prepare your child for Baptism around Easter 2027, so that they are ready to receive their First Holy Communion in June with the rest of the children.

The First Holy Communion registration form can be found here:

 Key Dates

§  Register NOW!

§  Locate your child’s Baptism certificate as soon as possible

§  Registration deadline: Sunday 6th September 2026

§  Parent meeting on Zoom: 8pm Wednesday 16th September 2026 (provisional date)

§  Please make yourself available on Sunday mornings for classes from Sunday 20th September onwards (your exact start date will be given after registrations close)

§  Schedule of key dates for the September 2026 – June 2027 course to follow

§  First Confession: late January/early February 2027

§  First Holy Communion: Late May/June 2027 (families will be able to choose from four weekends)

Structure of the Course

Depending on numbers, we will allocate the children between two or three groups. On the registration form you can let us know the names of anyone your child needs to share a group with.

We will teach roughly half of the course in person in the parish centre and the other half online using Zoom, alternating between these. Children will have two lessons a month, roughly one in person and one online. We will give you a schedule of dates which makes clear where and when each of your child’s lessons will take place.

The lessons in person will be at 8am in the parish hall. Parents are welcome to stay in the small meeting room next to the hall during the class or to drop the children off and collect them at 9:15am. Many families choose to then attend 9:30 Mass, during which there is a children’s Liturgy of the Word for younger children (starting at 9:30 in the hall).

Online lessons will take place at 9am using Zoom. We ask that an adult is present in the room with the child for the duration of the lesson, both for safeguarding purposes and to help your child engage with the lesson.

Course Materials

Our course book is Jesus Comes to Me by Dora Nash. We will provide this book for each child along with some other books that we use during the course (including the children’s Simple Prayer Book and Simple Mass Book), so there is no need for you to buy it in advance. We will ask for a voluntary donation towards the course materials.

Parent Catechesis

We plan to offer at least five catechesis sessions for parents during the course. Parents are required by our diocese to attend at least two sessions during the year, but we warmly invite you to attend as many as possible. These will be delivered via Zoom on weekday evenings. The dates will be confirmed at the start of the course.

Diocesan Guidelines

Please read our Diocesan Guidelines below. You may also find this First Holy Communion Reflective Document useful to read through (produced by the Archdiocese of Edinburgh).

Please contact us at olemfirstcommunion@rcdea.org.uk with any queries.