Faith Formation for Children & Youth

The First Steps in a Lifelong Journey of Faith

While the Church acknowledges the right and responsibility of parents to educate their children in the Faith, she must also exercise her role as a vigilant mother in matters of Faith. Religious education is both instruction in the truths of our Faith and a guide to a way of life that leads to communion with the Triune God. To put it another way, genuine religious education informs, forms, and transforms.

At the Cathedral, we believe that Faith Formation occurs within a family and that parents are the primary spiritual and moral educators of their children. We believe that the first church is the domestic church found in each and every home. Parents are integral in the role they play in their children’s faith development and serve as the primary teachers and role models. When parents introduce their child to the formal Faith Formation process, they are acting on the promises they made at their child’s Baptism to raise that child in the Catholic tradition. The parish’s’ responsibility is to support parents in their role as the primary teachers and evangelists of their families. Through a combination of lessons in the home, quality weekly sessions within the church community, and participation in Mass, young people within our parish have the best possible chance to live a full and loving life in the Catholic Faith. Parish provided Faith Formation instruction includes the following:

Faith Formation for Children

Faith Formation is provided for all registered children of the Cathedral in grades kindergarten through eight. Classes are held on Sunday morning from 10:15 - 11:30 am from September through May. Registration is required.

First Penance and First Communion Preparation

Children, aged seven and older, usually 2nd grade, are invited to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession in the fall preceding First Holy Communion. Children, aged seven and older, usually 2nd grade, and having previously celebrated First Confession, are invited to prepare for the Sacrament of First Eucharist in the spring. Parents and children are required to attend weekly Sunday Mass, preparation classes and workshops in addition to home study and regular religion classes. Registration is required.

Confirmation Preparation

Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation is offered for those in ninth grade. Faith Formation instructions in Grades 1-8 is a requirement. Confirmation preparation classes are held on Sunday morning from 10:15 - 11:30 am from September to May with Confirmation in May. Preparation also includes attendance at catechetical classes, attendance at weekly Sunday Mass, attendance at a Confirmation retreat. Registration is required.

Rite of Christian Initiation for Children

Children or teens who are not baptized or who have not attended a Faith Formation program since baptism are welcome to prepare for the Sacrament of First Penance and First Communion through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Children. Classes are held on Sunday mornings from September to the Easter vigil. Registration is required.