Religious Education for our
Catholic Youth
Holy Family with a Palm Tree, Raphael 1506-7
The Religious Education Program at Saint Michael Parish is a sanctuary of Catholic learning where children and their families 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 Program at Saint Michael Parish
2026-2027 School Year
Dear Families,
May the Lord give you peace! Welcome to the Saint 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 peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Welcome to Saint Michael's Faith Formation Program for 2026-2027 school year!
Blessings to you and your family!
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 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 by October 1st, 2026.
Catholic Religious Education is for children in Grades 1 through 8.
Please register by October 1st, 2026.
Religious Education Classes Begin on Sunday, October 18th, 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: Class Schedule
Religious Education Classes Begin on Sunday, October 18th, 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
We understand the busyness of family life! Your child's participation in classes supports their spiritual, academic, and social/emotional growth.
- Two excused absences are permissible;
- make up work will be provided.
In extenuating circumstances, please contact us.
- please contact us at: helenmarie@stmikes.org.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Participation in the Lord's Day Mass
In addition to class attendance, we also expect families to participate and attend the Lord's Day Mass (Saturday vigil Mass or Sunday Mass) each week, according to the Precepts of the Church.
Please give your family the greatest gift—spending time with Our Lord in the Holy Mass.
As Father Patrick Peyton once said,
"The family that prays together stays together!"
God bless you and your family!
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)
Important Seminars & Events of the Religious Education Program Requiring Parent Participation
Parent participation is required for families registered in the Religious Education program for the following seminars/events. (These seminars and events are listed on the Religious Education Calendar.)
PLEASE NOTE: For families who have children in both sessions, please attend the session which is most convenient for your family.
- Sunday, October 4th, (All grades, parents and students)
Family Welcome Breakfast and Orientation
Grades 1-4 after the 8am Mass, (9:10am to 10:15am)
Grades 5-8, after the 10am Mass, (11:10am to 12:15pm)
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Sunday, October 25th, (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
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Saturday, December 12th 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
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Sunday, January 24th (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
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Friday, February 26th, 5:30pm-7pm (grades 5-8 only, parents and students):
Family Pizza and Movie Night
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Sunday, March 21st (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
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- Sunday, June 6th (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
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
Important Dates for Reconciliation/ First Holy Communion Students and Confirmation Students
The following meetings & events are required for families whose children are receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation/First Holy Communion and Confirmation. (These seminars and events are listed on the Religious Education Calendar.)
First Reconciliation/ First Holy Communion Students
- Sunday, March 7, 9:10am-10:30am: First Holy Communion Parent Meeting (during students class time).
- Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor in Saint Therese Room
- Sunday, April 11, 9:10am-10:30am: First Holy Communion Parent Meeting (during students class time).
- Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor in Saint Therese Room
- Saturday, May 8, (9:30am, after the 9:00am Mass) Sacrament of First Reconciliation (students and parents only) in the upper Church.
- Friday, May 21, 6:00pm-7:15pm: First Holy Communion practice (student and parents only) in the upper Church.
- Saturday, May 22, 2:00pm: Sacrament of First Holy Communion Mass (entire family welcomed!) in the upper Church
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)
Location: Parish Center, 1st Floor, Saint Therese Room
- 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
Location: Upper Church
- Sunday, May 16, 2:00pm-3:30pm
Confirmation Mass, Saint Michael Parish, (entire family welcomed!)
Location: Upper Church
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.
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...
When you search for Life, Truth, Love...the answer is God.
Being Catholic
"What are you looking for?", Christ asked of his disciples.
Are you new or have been away from the Church? Are you Catholic and have not received the Sacraments?
We welcome and invite you to learn more about the Church and the faith that Jesus Christ founded.
Yet when you seek the Lord, your God, from there, you shall indeed find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul.
We encourage you to explore our website to learn more about the Church that was established by Jesus Christ to be One, Holy, Apostolic and Universal. We hope that many of the different works and videos presented on our website help you to discover the real Truth and Beauty of Catholicism.
EUCHARIST
The Holy Eucharist, in which the faithful receive the Body and Blood of Christ, is the ultimate sign of our sharing in the divine life of Christ as well as of our status as one Body in Christ... DISCOVER MORE
