Religious Education & Faith Formation

Handing on the faith is the ordinary work of the Church, and it begins at home. The parish exists to help — to give parents, children, and adults the instruction, the prayer, and the sacraments that make a Catholic life possible. Faith formation at St. Anthony of Padua is not a school subject to be completed and set aside. It is preparation for a lifetime at the altar.

Classes for children, youth, and adults are held in the school of Immaculate Conception Church, 136 Earle Street, New Bedford.


Class Schedule:

  • Grades 5 through 9: Tuesdays from 6:00 - 7:15PM
  • Grades K through 4: Wednesdays from 6:00 - 7:15PM


Classes run from September through May, following the parish calendar. Families are notified of holiday breaks and cancellations via WhatsApp, handouts, and in the Sunday bulletin.


Children and Youth

Grades K through 4. The younger children learn the basic prayers of the Church, the stories of Scripture, the shape of the liturgical year, and what happens at Mass and why. Much of this is memory work, and it is meant to be — a child who knows the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Creed by heart carries them for life.


Grades 5 through 9. The older students take up the Creed article by article, the seven sacraments, the moral life and the commandments, the history of the Church, and an introduction to prayer and the interior life. These years also carry the preparation for Confirmation.


Parents remain the first teachers of their children. Catechists give one hour and fifteen minutes a week; what happens the other six days matters more. We ask families to attend Sunday Mass together, to pray at home, and to go to confession regularly. Children who are brought to the sacraments learn far more than children who are only told about them.


First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion

The Sacrament of First Communion is celebrated at St. Anthony of Padua and Immaculate Conception on the during the month of May. Children ordinarily make their First Confession earlier in the same year, so that they come to the altar for the first time with a clean heart.


Preparation takes place over two years of faith formation classes. Children should be registered by grade 1 in order to receive First Communion in grade 2. A copy of the child's baptismal certificate is required at registration if the child was baptized outside this parish.


Confirmation

Confirmation is typically celebrated in May, though the date depends on the Bishop's schedule and is announced as soon as it is set.


Candidates prepare through the grade 8 and 9 classes and a small number of additional sessions, a retreat, and service to the parish. Each candidate chooses a sponsor, who must be a confirmed Catholic in good standing, at least sixteen years of age, and not the candidate's parent. Candidates also choose the name of a saint whose life they have come to know and whose intercession they wish to have.


OCIA — Adults Entering the Church

The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) is for anyone who wishes to become Catholic, and for Catholics who have not yet completed their initiation. That includes:

  • Adults who have never been baptized
  • Adults baptized in another Christian tradition who seek full communion with the Catholic Church
  • Baptized Catholics who have not received First Communion or Confirmation

There is no obligation attached to coming. Many people begin by simply sitting in on the sessions to learn what the Church actually teaches, and decide later whether to go forward.


The sessions cover Scripture, the Creed, the sacraments, moral teaching, and prayer, and are as much about learning to live as a Catholic as about learning what Catholics hold. Those preparing for baptism are ordinarily received at the Easter Vigil, the night the whole Church keeps watch for the Resurrection. Along the way they take part in the Rite of Acceptance in the parish and the Rite of Election with the Bishop at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Fall River.


OCIA meets Sunday's at 8AM in the St. Anthony of Padua Parish Classroom. Inquiries are welcome at any point in the year.


Catechists and Volunteers

The program depends on parishioners willing to teach. No formal background in theology is required — a settled Catholic faith, a willingness to prepare, and an hour and a quarter a week. Training and materials are provided, and all volunteers must complete the Diocese of Fall River's safe environment requirements before working with children.

If you have thought about it, please speak to us.


Contact

Mother Maria Iparthenos S.S.V.M, Director of Faith Formation 774-849-0986 · ccd@saintanthonynb.org