Children
Order of Christian Initiation for Children (7-18 years old)
Order of Christian Initiation adapted for Children. Children that are at least 7 years old and in grades 1- 12th grade and have not been baptized or were baptized in a faith other than the Catholic Church will be placed in our wonderful program, OCIC. We require that the child attends at least one year of Faith Formation prior to entering their year of OCIC. Children should also attend Mass weekly with their families. If your child has not received any formation up to this point, please enroll them in a year of Faith Formation. If your child has completed a year of faith formation within the last year, registration for the 2024-2025 year is available during the month of August 2024.
AGE 7 THROUGH 8TH GRADE – OCIC participants attend faith formation as they did in the first year of preparation, and then meet once a month for sacrament specific formation. Children should also attend Mass weekly with their families. Once a month, children and their families will sit together at the 9:00 am Mass on Sundays. During Mass, the children are dismissed after the homily (around 9:30) for Breaking Open the Word (BOW). After Breaking Open the Word, they attend their weekly OCIC session until 11:15 am. Parents join the children at the once-a-month sessions after attending the 9AM Mass.
9TH THROUGH 12TH GRADE – High school aged children will participate in Youth Ministry programs for 2 years. The second year of formation will take place on Wednesday nights as a part of the Teen Confirmation Program, which meets on Wednesday Nights, instead of the Sunday morning classes.
All of the children and teens who haven’t been baptized in any faith will receive Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation during the Easter Vigil Mass. All the children and teens who were baptized in a faith other than Catholic will make a Profession of Faith, and receive First Holy Communion and Confirmation during the Divine Mercy Sunday Mass.
Program Coordinator:
