Religious Education for Our Catholic Youth
The Religious Education Program at Saint Michael Parish is a sanctuary of Catholic learning where children grow in virtue, wisdom and the joy of encountering Jesus Christ in their own lives. Through true devotion to Mother Mary we dedicate ourselves to answering the call of sainthood.
Religious Education Registration
Registration of your child for the 2026-2027 Religious Education Program at Saint Michael is open for registration. Please select the button below to register.
Catholic Religious Education is for children in Grades 1 through 8.
Religious Education Classes Begin on Sunday, September 20th, 2026.
We Welcome
New Parishioners
If you have not become a parishioner yet and your children are at the age to start Religious Education (students from Grades 1 through 8), now is a great time to help grow Saint Michael Parish!
Religious Education Program at Saint Michael Parish for 2026-2027 the School Year
Dear Families,
May the Lord give you peace! Welcome to the St. Michael’s Religious Education program for 2026-27 school year!
It is an honor and a joy to support you as your child's primary educator and to assist your family in building the domestic church, “...a community of grace and prayer…a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.” (CCC 1666) Our mission is to nurture your child’s relationship with Jesus Christ, preparing in them a heart and mind that gives witness to the truth of His Goodness.
We prayerfully prepare our classrooms as sanctuaries of learning where students grow in virtue and practice Christian charity, free to respond to Our Lord’s command: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13: 34-35
Grades 1-8 will study from the beautiful
Word of Life curriculum, developed by Augustine Institute. Lessons are designed to enlighten our whole community of learners, catechists and families alike, as we grow in the knowledge and love of our Catholic faith. To paraphrase Saint Anselm of Canterbury, our "faith is seeking understanding." And Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote,
“Love follows knowledge.”
Thank you for entrusting us with your child’s religious education.
We look forward to receiving the many blessings of Our Lord Jesus and His Holy Mother Mary in this Jubilee Year of Saint Francis of Assisi!
May the Lord give you and your family peace.
Father Bert
Pastor of Saint Michael Parish
Helen Marie Choiniere
Religious Education Coordinator
"At the beginning of his evangelical life, (Saint. Francis) heard a call: 'The Lord revealed to me that we should say this greeting:
"May the Lord give you peace"'. With these essential words, he conveys to his friars and to every believer the inner wonder that the Gospel had brought into his life: peace is the sum of all God’s gifts, a gift that comes from above.”
~Letter of the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Ministers General of the Conference of the Franciscan Family on the occasion of the opening of the Eighth Centenary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, 10.01.2026~
Religious Education Program: Class Schedule
Religious Education Classes Begin on Sunday, September 20th, 2026.
Grades 1 -4
9:10am-10:30am
- These classes are held after the 8:00am Mass.
- Classes will follow a 3 week on, 1 week off schedule (with some exceptions; see Religious Education Schedule for details).
- No classes will be held during school vacations.
Grades 5 - 8
11:10am-12:30pm
- These classes are held after the 10:00am Mass.
- Classes will follow a 3 week on, 1 week off schedule (with some exceptions; see Religious Education Schedule for details).
- No classes will be held during school vacations.
Class Attendance Policy
As parents ourselves, we understand the busy lives of families!
Your child's participation in classes supports your child’s spiritual, academic, and social/emotional growth.
In the event that your child is absent,
- please contact us at: helenmarie@stmikes.org.
- Makeup work will be sent home for completion by the next class date.
The home is the first school of Christian life, and a “school for human enrichment.”
Here one learns endurance, and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous–and even repeated–forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one’s life.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church #1657)
Religious Education Program: Additional Seminars/Events
Parent participation is required for families registered in the Religious Education program for the following seminars/events. PLEASE NOTE: For families who have children in both sessions, please attend the session which is most convenient for your family.
- Sunday, September 13, (All grades, parents and students)
Family Welcome Breakfast and Orientation
Grades 1-4 after the 8am Mass,
Grades 5-8, after the 10am Mass
- Sunday, October 4, (All grades, parents only):
Parent Seminar 1: Becoming Free
Grades 1-4, during your respective class time
Grades 5-8, during your respective class time
- Saturday, December 12 at 6:15pm-7:30pm (grades 1-4 only, parents and students)
Pajama Family Movie Night: Our Lady of Guadalupe
popcorn and drinks will be provided
- Sunday, January 24 (All grades, parents only):
Parent Seminar 2: Tobias and Sarah
Grades 1-4, during your respective class time
Grades 5-8, during your respective class time
- Friday, February 26, 5:30pm-7pm (grades 5-8 only, parents and students):
Family Pizza and Movie Night
- Sunday, March 21 (All grades, parents only):
Parent Seminar 3: The Summit and The Saints
Grades 1-4, during your respective class time
Grades 5-8, during your respective class time
- Sunday, June 6 (All grades, parents only):
End of Year Celebratory Brunch
Grades 1-4, during your respective celebratory time
Grades 5-8, during your respective celebratory time
Religious Education Program: AdditionMeetings/Events for First Reconciliation/ First Holy Communion and Confirmation Students
For Families whose children are receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation/First Holy Communion and Confirmation, the following meetings/events are also required:
First Reconciliation/ First Holy Communion Students
- Sunday, March 7, 9:10am-10:30am: First Holy Communion Parent Meeting (during students class time)
- Sunday, April 11, 9:10am-10:30am: First Holy Communion Parent Meeting (during students class time)
- Saturday, May 8, 9:10am-10:30am: Sacrament of First Reconciliation after the 9:00am Mass (students and parents only)
- Friday, May 21, 6:00pm-7:15pm: First Holy Communion practice (student and parents only)
- Saturday, May 22, 2:00pm: Sacrament of First Holy Communion Mass (entire family welcomed!)
Grade 7 Confirmation Students
Confirmation Camp Summer 2027
Summer of 2027; (dates in July, To Be Announced)
Location: Saint Michael Parish
For students currently enrolled in Grade 7
3-day Confirmation Preparatory Day Camp program
Grade 8 Confirmation Students
- Friday, January 22, 5:30pm-8:00pm,
- Saturday, January 23, 9:00am-2:00pm
Retreat #1, 2-Days: Confirmation Preparatory, "Fire of the Holy Spirit"
Location: Saint Michael Parish
Note: students only, pizza dinner served
- Saturday, March 13, 9:00am-2:00pm
Retreat #2: Confirmation Preparatory, "Summit and Saints"
Location: Saint Michael Parish
Note: students only, lunch served
- Sunday, April 4, 11:00am-12:30pm
Confirmation-Parent Meeting (Parents Only during student class time)
- Saturday, May 1, 10:00am-2:00pm
Retreat #3: Confirmation Preparatory, "Creation"
Location: Gates Pond, Sudbury: Hike
Note: students only, bring brown bag lunch, parents sign waivers and drop off
- Wednesday, May 5, 7:00pm-8:30pm
Confirmation-Parent Meeting; (online only; link will be sent)
- Friday, May 15, 2:00pm-3:15pm
Confirmation Practice, Saint Michael Parish
- Sunday, May 16, 2:00pm-3:30pm
Confirmation Mass, Saint Michael Parish, (entire family welcomed!)
The Catholic Family is the "Domestic Church"
The family household is the most essential location of the Catholic Faith. Each Catholic parent's primary duty is to be a spiritual parent who helps shape his/her children in their Catholic identity. The parish community supports, augments, and nourishes this growth, but can never take over the parents' role in being the first and best teachers of the Faith. This is the vocation of the Catholic family.
The Holy Family
The Christian family is the first cell of the whole Church. It is the place where we begin the journey toward holiness and become more fully human. The Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, became one of us. He was born into a human family. That was neither accidental nor incidental. There, in what the late Pope Paul VI called the "School of Nazareth", we can learn the way of love...Every moment of his time among us, Jesus was saving the world, recreating it from within. Jesus spent 30 of his 33 earthly years in Nazareth.
There, in the holy habitation of Nazareth, He forever transformed family life. Now, He teaches us how to live in His presence, if we will enroll in the "School of Nazareth". From antiquity, the Christian family has rightly been called a "domestic church." In our life within the Christian family, Jesus Christ is truly present...
More about the Religious Education Program...
The Religious Education program at Saint Michael Parish is designed to help families develop the tools to pass the Faith on to their children, to grow together as a family bonded together by their Catholic Faith, and to deepen their understanding of Catholicism.
Worshipping together at the Lord's Day Mass (Saturday vigil Mass or Sunday Mass) and learning to live their faith in everyday life is the way parents fulfill this vocation and journey with their children to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Our vision for Religious Education is designed to encourage our families to take this journey together, to share their faith with each other, to help each other grow in their vocation, and to discover together the beauty of being Catholic.
The Mass
Worshipping together at the Lord's Day Mass (Saturday vigil Mass or Sunday Mass) is the center of our faith and is the center of our parish, including our Religious Education Program.
