Monthly Album

First Holy Communions

Confirmed (But Some Escaped)

Perhaps we should refer to all those who have been through Sacramental programmes in this last year, whether as children preparing for First Holy Communion, teenagers receiving Confirmation or older people being baptised after preparation through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults as Generation Zoom? Certainly that is how much of the preparatory work has been done, and the images of the celebrations usually feature at least one or two masks lurking somewhere, as in this image of the First Holy Communion children who received the Blessed Sacrament for the first time over the Corpus Christi weekend.

Confessions Delayed, Now Made

Last year it did not prove possible to find a time when the children of the Choir School could make their First Holy Communion and, therefore, their preceding First Confession. Finally this is now possible and so nearly 40 penitent pupils came into the Cathedral for reconciliation. It has been a long wait for many of them and a joy that they can make this next step in their journey of faith.

There was something of a mêlée at the end of the Pentecost Vigil Mass with the Confirmation candidates and all their families, friends and supporters, so that by the time that the Cardinal had returned to the sanctuary for a group photo, a few of the newly-confirmed from both the parish and Westminster School had already gone forth (glorifying God in their lives, we hope). The image, therefore, tells the truth, but not the whole truth about those who received the Sacrament.