Celebrating Sacraments

The Sacrament of Baptism is the door through which one enters the Church. For parents who wish to have their children baptized into the Church our parish asked no more than what the Catholic Church as a whole requires.

If it is your first child, we would ask that you attend a baptism preparation class. For more information you can contact Kathy Buttner. If you have not had a chance to register in the parish, this is the perfect time to do so.

A child should have at least one godparent, and may have two (a godmother and a godfather). The parents cannot, of course, also be the godparents. In order to be a godparent you should:

• Be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place (e.g., permanent legal guardian).
• Over 16 years of age, unless the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause
• Be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on
• Since the primary task of a godparent is to give example, if a person is married, they must be married in the Church.
• We ask all godparents to fill out a brief questionnaire attesting to their ability serve as godparents.
• While godparents must be Catholic, the Church does allow that other baptized Christians serve as “Christian Witnesses” at the baptism.

If you would like someone to contact you, please take a moment tofill out and submit our Godparent Questionnaire, available for download here, or via our Online Form Page.

Preparing to receive Jesus through the Sacrament of the Eucharist for the first time is an exciting time. It is a time for focus on Jesus, faith, and family.

• Child must be in second grade or up and must have already prepared for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
• Child must have regularly attended faith formation classes the year prior to preparation and be attending regularly the year they prepare for this sacrament.
• St. Patrick’s must have on file a copy of the baptismal certificate (or other acceptable proof of baptism) of each child preparing for the Sacrament of First Eucharist before completion of the preparation. If a family no longer has a copy of the child’s original certificate, the parish of baptism can be directly contacted to request a copy (note that most churches require a few weeks notice).
• If a child was baptized in another faith tradition, parent must contact the office before the start of the preparation.

Youth Confirmation
High school age parishioners are generally confirmed in the Spring, after two years of catechesis. Parents of high school aged individuals seeking confirmation should contact…

Adult Confirmation
If you are eighteen or older, have been baptized Catholic and received First Eucharist but have not yet been confirmed, please contact…

Sponsors

In the act of giving themselves to each other and accepting each other in marriage, the couple are joined by a bond that should never be broken. When both parties are baptized, the marriage is a sacrament which no power on earth can divide. Because of the profound effects and value of marriage the church requests that a couple begin their preparation at least six months prior to the date of the wedding.

Marriage preparation begins with an initial meeting with the priest or deacon. After the initial meeting, the couple is asked to attend a marriage preparation session. There are a variery of options to fit your situation. They will also begin to work with our Wedding Coordinator, Michelle Dawson, to plan the details of the wedding ceremony.

The Catholic parties will need to acquire new copies of their baptismal certificates. When you contact the church of your baptism, inform them you are preparing to marry. They will know what to send.

If either party has been previously married, this marriage must be completely resolved before a date can be set for the wedding.

For parishioners, there is no fee for the use of the church, since as members of the parish we assume that you contribute regularly to the ministry of the parish, and we thank you for that contribution. We request only a donation of $300 which helps defray some of the costs to the parish and includes the services of the wedding coordinator.

For non-parishioners, in addition to the $300 dollars above, we ask for an additional donation of $300, which helps to maintain our beautiful historic church.

If the parish Social Hall is used for the reception, the Diocese of Richmond requires $100 insurance to cover liability.

If you have read all of the above, accept the Catholic Church’s teaching on marriage and are interested in setting up an appointment to begin the process, please take a moment to complete and submit the initial questionnaire. Please be aware that 2 PM on Saturday is the latest we celebrate weddings at St. Patrick.

If you are interested in getting married at our Church, please complete the Initial Wedding Questionnaire.

Reconciliation is available before Saturday evening Mass from 4:30-5:15pm, or by appointment. Please contact one of our priests.

First Reconciliation

Anointing of the sick is available from the priests as well. If you are going into the hospital, please contact us. Because of privacy concerns, hospitals no longer give out information as they did in the past.

Visitation to the Sick and Homebound

If you or someone you know would like a visit and Holy Communion at their home. Please call the office at (804) 737-8028. Office staff will ensure the information will be relayed to Visitation Ministry individuals.