Update 15 December 2021
According to the Government of Ontario plan for reopening, we should see end of lockdown restrictions by the end of March. If that holds true, we will get through the backlog of First Communions and Confirmations by the end of the school year. Next year (September 2022) we will do First Communion for Grades 2 and 3, and Confirmations for Grades 7 and 8. It is frustrating for us that we are not able to proceed as we would like, but we never thought that the initial two-week lockdown would be extended to two years. We are eager to get going as soon as we are free to do so.
First Communion
For children who completed the First Communion classes for 2019-2020 (now in Gr. 4), we are proceeding with First Communions at the 9:00 am and 12:00 pm Sunday Masses, with two families at each Mass. See the post below (First Communoin 2020) for more details.
For children for 2020-2021 (now in Gr. 3) who did the home study with the books provided, we will complete the preparation and celebrate First Confession and First Communion Mass as soon as the restriction on in-person gatherings are lifted. See the post below (First Communion 2021) for more details.
For children now in Grade Two (or older children who have not yet done their First Communion) we will begin the preparation as soon as the restrictions on in-person gatherings are lifted. We do not know when this will be, as these restrictions are imposed on us by the government. It now seems likely that we will begin only in September 2020, preparing both the Grade 2 and Grade 3 children for the Sacraments.
Confirmation
The situation for Confirmation is more complicated because, unlike First Communion, the Rite of Confirmation requires a dedicated Mass. We plan to catch up on Confirmations as soon as we can have in-person gatherings and full seating capacity in the Church. We are at the mercy of the government's lockdown policy.
