What is required to celebrate the Holy Communion at the Qawra Parish?
- The Holy Communion is normally celebrated when children are between 6 and 7 years old, when they are attending year 3 class at school.
- To celebrate the Holy Communion the children must:
- Be Baptised
- Have attended Holy Communion catechism lessons
- If the parents are resident in another parish and they wish that their child celebrates the Holy Communion in Qawra, they have to go to their respective parish priest (i..e the parish priest serving the locality of their residence). The Parish Priest will fill the form “Permess biex sagrament jiġi amministrat f’parroċċa oħra” and give it to the parents so that they can present it to the Qawra Parish Priest. They must then take this form to the Qawra Parish Office.
- Other details will be provided in due course by an email from the respective catechist or from the Parish Office.
The Holy Communion dresses, Videos and Photos.
When it comes to Holy Communion clothes worn by the children, at the Qawra Parish there is practice that is different than most other parishes.
During the Holy Communion celebration, children wear uniform clothes provided by the Qawra Parish. The robe is unisex, but the girls will also have a veil and an underskirt. Although not provided by the Parish, the boys must also wear a white/cream shorts or bermuda shorts, and a white/cream shirt or t-shirt underneath the dress. The Parish will also provide a medal with the name of the child.
A few weeks before the Holy Communion is celebrated, the parents must take their child to the Parish Office to try on the items for size. The clothes and accessories can be collected from the Parish Office about two weeks before the Holy Communion is celebrated.
When the clothes are collected, a deposit has to be paid. The deposit will be partly refunded (the difference is used for dry cleaning) when the dress is returned back to the Parish Office. The deposit for boys is €35, out of which €20 will be refunded when the clothes are returned back. For girls the deposit is €50, and the refund would be €30.
Regarding the photography and video, the Qawra Parish will have its official photographer taking photos and video of the celebration. The photographer will also be available before the celebration starts in a hall set up appropriately for the event. Payment for the DVD with the video and for digital photos will be made in advance a few weeks beforehand.
Other details will be communicated by email sent by the catechists or by the Parish Office.
Note: Parents of children residing in Qawra and who will celebrate the Holy Communion in another parish must fill in the below form. They will receive the “Permess biex sagrament jiġi amministrat f’parroċċa oħra” form by email which they need to present to the Parish Priest of the respective locality where the Holy Communion will be celebrated.