Baptisms
Please contact the office on 7036 9393 or parkville@cam.org.au for reservations and a brief meeting with Fr Tony which usually occur straight after Sunday 10am mass.
Confessions
Confession bookings are welcome and can be offered on Saturdays prior to the Vigil Mass. This sacrament is also offered as part of the sacramental program for First Communion and Confirmation candidates. Please inform the office if you have the intention to attend, to ensure Fr Tony is available.
Sacramental Program for Reconciliation, First Communion & Confirmation
All future registrations can proceed with the presentation of baptism certificates, and for confirmation students also a first communion certificate.
For families outside the Parish zone of St Carthage’s, we ask that you produce a letter of consent/release letter by your local Parish Priest, simply explaining to them the reasons you choose to have the sacrament done outside your own parish.
N.B. Your ‘local parish’ refers to the parish whose boundaries include your place of residence.
General Information
Volunteers run the Sacramental program at St Carthage’s, for Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation.
The process for preparing the 2026 program has begun, with three volunteers who will be generously providing their time to support students through each sacrament.
The Program will run on Sunday mornings as follows:
9:00 – 9:50am at the presbytery: 30 Bayles Street, Parkville. Teachers will then walk with the students to the church -123 Royal Parade – where they would be required to attend the 10am Parish Mass.
PROGRAM OUTLINE
24th of May– 9 am class at the parish house
31st of May– 9 am class at the parish house
7th of June, no classes due to long weekend
14th of June- 9 am class at the parish house
21st of June- 9 am class at the parish house
28th of Jun- 19th Jul- home learning component
26th of July– 9 am class at the parish house
2nd of August– 9 am class at the parish house
9th of August- 9 am class at the parish house
16th of August- Ceremony Practices: Eucharist class at 9 am in the church, Confirmation class at 11 am in the church, Reconciliation at 9 am in the parish house.
SACRAMENTAL CEREMONY DATES:
* 23rd of August- First Eucharist Mass at the normal 10 am Parish Mass
* Confirmation Mass TBC
* Reconciliation times booked privately with Fr Tony
LEARNING REQUIREMENTS
- Attendance is expected to be no less than 80% without a doctor’s certificate. If this is not met, your child will need to re-do the program the following year to be able to celebrate their Sacrament and receive their certificate.
- The mass component of the program after each lesson will require attendance with a parent or guardian, who is expected to be waiting for them at the Church by 9:55am.
- Completion of all home learning tasks that are sent home during the 4 weeks of home learning.
- The cost of the program will be $150 with a 10% discount for siblings. If you wish to discuss payment plan options, please do not hesitate to contact the parish office.
- Each student will require an exercise book, pencil case (with a pencil/pen, coloured pencils, eraser, sharpener, and glue stick), and a clipboard to lean on.
Please be mindful of the fact that the program is delivered by the generosity of volunteers, so the dates stipulated are non-negotiable.
We sincerely look forward to sharing this special sacramental journey with you.
Any further enquiries can be emailed to the parish office: parkville@cam.org.au ,and we will endeavour to answer them at our nearest convenience.
We happily welcome all who are seeking a Christ-centred journey, and understand that St Carthage’s for many is a choice for various sentimental reasons. However, we encourage families to first enquire at their local Parish. You may find your local parish to have a well pre-established program, and, being within close proximity to your family will be easily accessed for the important ongoing and lifelong nourishment of the sacraments, whereby Christ makes known his power and love for every individual.
The importance of the Sacraments
The teaching of sacraments to young children is to be taken seriously and with intention to raise your child in an environment of prayer, practice and observance in the faith. It is not something to be done and over with, but a life journey that teaches us to recognise the presence of God in our lives, in the choices we make and the friendships we keep.
As the central role model of your child(ren), their acquired sacrament will be the added observance towards you; how you practice, or don’t practice, how you perceive the church and it’s necessary sacramental gifts. You are by very definition, the leading teachers of faith in their lives. To attend a sacramental program, followed by what you do or don’t do to help them with their acquired knowledge, speaks mounds to them.
We often hear it said in today’s day and age, “I won’t baptise my children, I want them to be free to choose their own faith when they’re ready.” In a world where choices are so vast, laying a foundation for them is even more important. The life of faith is a foundational spring board, where they can reach their highest potential in the calling that is meant for them: providing peace in troubled times, certainty in pressured moments, true identity in the search for meaning, and in this identity, dignity in the knowledge that they are children of God. They are by very definition, free because of this.