A central defining characteristic of a Catholic school’s identity is centered on the person of Jesus Christ (NSBECS, 2023). Through the transformative power of the sacraments, each of us is offered a life-changing, life-giving, lifesustaining encounter with Christ. However, sacramental preparation and celebration can exist on the periphery of our Catholic school experiences or, in some cases, as perfunctory or performative events. How do Catholic school educators foster a vibrant sacramental life as a priority in our Catholic schools? How do Catholic school leaders, teachers, families and parish ministers partner to accompany students and families through sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and, in some cases, Baptism? This article invites Catholic school educators to re-engage with sacramental life as God’s primary remedy for “heading the whole person, the whole family, the whole Church and the whole world” (Schuchts, 2017).
To understand how sacraments can catalyze a school’s identity, one needs to understand the opportunities and limitations. For example, in 1982 Catholic schools in the Diocese of Buffalo were first instructed to leave the sacramental preparation to parishes. One could assume that many were using regular religion classes to prepare for First Holy Communion, First Reconciliation, and Confirmation. Sacraments might have been celebrated in the parish church (at the time, elementary schools were parish schools, after all), but they might have been celebrated separately from the parish students attending public schools. Remnants of this practice remain in some parishes with large secondand third-grade enrollments, but by and large, this instruction has led to a dramatic shift in sacramental prep, which roughly coincides with a drop in sacramental participation, which resembles national trends.
The graph demonstrates a dramatic drop in sacramental participation. In the Diocese of Buffalo, infant baptisms have decreased by 80 percent since 1980, First Holy Communion by 73 percent, and Confirmations by 56 percent. The decrease in Catholic elementary school enrollment of 76 percent does not seem unusual. The trends nationally are not as drastic. In fact, Confirmations have increased nationally since 1990. While it is impossible to say whether there is a correlation between the new method of sacramental preparation in the Diocese of Buffalo, it is fair to claim that the new policy was implemented during a time of decreasing sacramental participation.
Relevant to this discussion is the unintended consequence of this new sacramental preparation. Many Catholic schools have become disconnected from sacramental celebrations as they’ve been told to stay away from sacramental preparation. We offer that it’s time for Catholic school leaders to reinvest time and resources into sacramental preparation and celebrations to promote more encounters with God’s grace. While we realize we might be traversing sacred borders (and silos!) we also recognize that all of us in the ministry of the teaching of the faith should share one common goal—to bring more people to Christ. And we do this in a spirit of invitation and accompaniment.
Traditionally, a Catholic school’s encounter with baptism begins and ends with the request for a baptismal certificate. That’s it. There is usually no follow-up or inquiry as to why a student from a Catholic family is not baptized. Nor is there inquiry about whether there is a desire for baptism by the student or his/her family. Why not? One of us once asked a school pastor whether we could begin a baptismal prep class for the school community. “That belongs to whatever parish they belong to,” was the response. But the family might not be a parish member, and furthermore, we usually only offer the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) for a season. Principals have an opportunity to have open dialogue with school families about baptism. Did they miss the opportunity? Do they wish to engage now? Or are you inviting the families of the newly baptized to join the school for Pre-K?
As faith communities, our Catholic schools could provide an onramp to joining the Catholic faith. Could you imagine an OCIA group of parents and students learning together? Check out the website of your parish. Is it easy to find the link to become baptized? While parishes are places for celebrating the sacraments, the Catholic school community can provide a generative bridge. Families new to the Catholic Church could be publicly welcomed at an all-school Mass and/or assembly. With a spirit of “open enrollment” to join the Catholic Church, Catholic school leaders can invite and accompany our faculty, staff and parent community to be baptized into the faith as prophets, priests and kings.
In the Diocese of Buffalo, second grade is the year for First Reconciliation. The Catholic school could provide local Directors of Religious Education (DREs) an opportunity to reach out to parents and students and invite them to their sacramental preparation programs. This would provide a chance to connect with local parishes and invite more students. It would also provide opportunities for religion teachers to share resources with DREs and catechists and then the sacrament could be a part, however small, of the religion curriculum. Since the sacraments are celebrated on different days in different parishes, one should make sure to highlight and celebrate with the families.
In the same way that local DREs are invited into the school to invite students for First Reconciliation preparation, DREs can invite third graders for First Holy Communion preparation. This would mark the third sacramental conversation with families (once on entry, once in second grade and now in third grade). Since many students celebrate at different parishes, schools are encouraged to celebrate “Second Communion” together in May.
A National Eucharistic Revival is underway, with this school year 2023-2024 as the parish year of the revival. All members of the Church are invited to unity and renewal by “enkindling a living relationship with Lord Jesus in the Holy Eucharist” (National Eucharistic Revival, 2023). Since the Pew Forum (2019) survey found that 69 percent of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Catholic school leaders have a critical role to play in this revival. How are you participating? Perhaps alongside our second graders in preparations for First Holy Communion, we invite all of the parents, grandparents and older siblings to know deeply the Eucharist as a sacred meal and sacrifice (This is My Body, Barron, 2023). One way to engage our community with this revival movement is by hosting “encounter nights” to create space to encounter the living God in the Eucharist, perhaps through Eucharist Adoration or a family teaching Mass in the evening followed by a community meal. Do we have weekly Mass opportunities for students and families to attend during, before or after school? What is our commitment of time and treasure to celebrating Mass as the cornerstone of our Catholic school experience? As Vatican II reminds us, the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” and thus, belongs as the source and summit of our Catholic school experience as well.
The Synthesis Report on this fall’s Synod of Bishops addresses a new understanding of Confirmation, which might impact our approach to the sacrament. “In light of different ecclesial experiences, ways to make the preparation and celebration of this sacrament more fruitful should be considered to awaken in all the faithful the call to community building mission in the world and witness to the faith.” The synthesis document notes that Confirmation should be a call to develop one’s gifts and vocation. Our Catholic high schools—often the primary faith communities for our students—create powerful places of encounter and vocational discernment through community service opportunities, retreats and theology courses of study. Is our high school campus ministry office and theology department working alongside and in partnership with our local parishes? What is the relationship between our Catholic high schools and our parish Confirmation preparation programs? Do we partner with local DREs to invite our students to Confirmation preparation? For example, since all of our Buffalo Catholic high schools are independent of the diocese, pastors and parish DREs are likely not in close collaboration. Furthermore, if students (or parents) desire Baptism, First Reconciliation, or First Holy Communion (to participate in Confirmation), do we provide a process for the preparation? Or, at least, an introduction to a local parish or two? If students received a personal invitation from our high school educators to participate in the sacramental life of the Church—as opposed to a bulletin announcement—they might be more inclined to join.
It’s also important to note that the “Restored Order” of sacraments puts Confirmation before First Holy Communion. For those who view Confirmation as a sacrament that needs to be “earned” or “deserved” through right actions, consider that the Restored Order grants Confirmation to 8-year-olds as a sign of their continued welcome to the Church. We should work toward the end of confirming more students so they can more fully participate in the life of the Church. It’s a faint echo of Pope Francis’ call that “the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”
Can we agree that most adults in our Catholic school communities (faculty and staff, board members, parents, stakeholders) need to be invited to learn or to re-engage with sacramental life? As a mission of the Church, Catholic school educators are called to contribute to the evangelizing mission of the Church (NSBECS, 2023). Do you have any parents or teachers who are interested in becoming Catholic? Do you have any parents who were never confirmed? As Catholic school leaders, baptized in the faith, we can invite our fellow teachers and parents, interested in sacramental preparation for any sacrament. We can only invite if we’re asking the question. We (the parish and school) are on the same team and should have the same goal—bringing more people to Christ.
Sacraments can serve as catalysts for the Catholic identity of your schools. After all, the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools (NSBCS) establish in Standard 3, Benchmark 3.1 that “Every student is offered timely and regular opportunities to grow closer to Christ through prayer, the Eucharist and liturgy.” We need to celebrate the sacraments as well as dedicate ourselves to encouraging sacramental participation. By doing so, our Catholic schools will be participating in the Eucharistic Revival and bringing more people to Christ.
Lauren Cassella, Ph.D., is the academic program director for the Catholic School Leadership Academy and assistant clinical professor in the department of educational leadership and administration in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University. Cassella is also a distinguished member of the NCEA Board of Directors.
Timothy Uhl, Ph.D., is the superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Buffalo.
Lauren CasellaLauren.casella@lmu.edu
Timothy UhlTuhl@buffalodiocese.org