First Holy Communion

25th September 2026

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I hope you and your families are well. It is a great joy to share with you the details of our First Holy Communion Programme 2026–2027. Following feedback from families, we have made some changes this year, with the hope of making the journey a joyful and meaningful experience for both children and parents.

First Holy Communion is a very special moment in a child’s life and, above all, an opportunity for them to grow closer to Jesus and His Church. As parents, you have the beautiful responsibility of nurturing your child’s faith, and we look forward to supporting you on this journey.

Who is the programme for?

The programme is for practising Catholic children in Year 3 or above who live and worship in Holy Name, Our Lady Immaculate or St Augustine of Canterbury parish churches.

We ask families to make every effort to attend the preparation sessions and to participate regularly in Sunday Mass. Each child will receive a Mass attendance card, which can be signed by a priest or catechist. This year with our new priests joining our Linked Parish family this will help the Priests meet your families quickly to offer you support on your child's faith journey.

If you live outside our linked parishes, please speak with your local Parish Priest before enrolling as they will need to give us permission to catechise your child.

Enrolment

Please complete an application form for each child and return it to the Parish Office, together with a £30 contribution per child, by Monday 28th September 2026 by 12 Noon .

Payment can be made by cash or cheque payable to “Our Lady Immaculate Church.”

If the contribution would be difficult for your family, please speak with me, Fr Barto, or the Parish Office. We are very happy to help.

If your child was not baptised in one of our three linked churches, please include a copy of their Baptism Certificate with the application.

Parents’ Meeting

Our Parents’ Meeting will take place on Friday 2nd October 2026 at 7:00pm at Our Lady Immaculate Church Hall.

This will be a lovely opportunity for us to meet, explain the programme and talk about how we can work together to support our children. We very much hope that all parents and guardians will be able to attend.

Preparation Sessions

There will be 11 preparation sessions, normally from 9:30am to 11:00am. Please arrive a little early so that the children can be registered and ready to begin.

• 10th October – Session 1 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 17th October – Session 2 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 14th November – Session 3 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 28th November – Session 4 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 5th December – Session 5 – Our Lady Immaculate
• 16th January – Session 6 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 6th February – Session 7 – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 27th February – Session 8 – Holy Name
• 13th March – Session 9 – St Augustine of Canterbury
  • 16th March is First Reconciliation In Our Lady Immaculate Church from 7pm
• 24th April – Session 10 – Our Lady Immaculate
• 8th May – Session 11 – St Augustine of Canterbury

We encourage children to attend all the sessions, as each one forms an important part of their preparation. We understand that family life can sometimes be difficult to plan around, so if you already know that some of the dates will be difficult for your family, please speak with Fr Barto or one of the Catechists.

First Holy Communion

The First Holy Communion rehearsals will take place on 16th May 2027 after your child's usual Sunday Mass, with further details to follow.

First Holy Communion will be celebrated on Saturday 22nd May 2027:

• 12:00 noon – St Augustine of Canterbury
• 12:00 noon – Holy Name
• 2:00pm – Our Lady Immaculate

We would love the children to join us at their usual Sunday Mass on 23rd May, wearing their First Holy Communion clothes, so that the whole parish community can continue to celebrate with them.

Thank you for all that you do to nurture your child’s faith. We look forward to sharing this special journey with you and your children, and to celebrating together when they receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Let us keep our children and families in our prayers as we journey together towards First Holy Communion 2027.

With every good wish and prayer,

God bless,

Fr Bartolomeu Blaj
Parish Priest
Chelmsford Linked Parishes