A Carrick-on-Suir priest has welcomed remarks by Martin Cullen, Minister for Social and Family Affairs, who advised parents to avoid over-spending on their child’s First Holy Communion and Confirmation celebrations.Minister Cullen was speaking at the recent launch of a leaflet which provides money-saving tips for parents of children set to receive the two sacraments in the coming months.
“A Confirmation or First Holy Communion ceremony is an important day – a landmark day if you like – and should be a memorable, proud and happy occasion for the child,” he explained.
“However, all the pressure of trying to make the day special for the child can cause parents a lot of stress, particularly if the costs start to increase. Peer pressure, even at this young age, can also increase the cost of the day for the family.”
Fr Richard Geoghegan, curate in Carrick-on-Suir, said he agreed “absolutely” with Minister Cullen’s views, and pointed out that First Communion celebrations in particular had gone overboard.
“It’s especially the case with parents of girls,” he said. “ They have them on sunbeds, they have them with fake nails, fake tans, hairpieces. The dress has to be like a bridal gown and it’s getting to the stage where we’re even seeing stretch limousines.
“The emphasis is not so much on the sacrament as on the party afterwards. The actual practice of the sacrament is an excuse for a party and I think it’s interesting that the one sacrament that has fallen away is Confession because there’s no party attached to that.”
Fr Geoghegan stressed that not all parents succumb to the pressure to spend vast sums of money on their child’s First Communion celebrations.
“There are parents who are regular Mass-goers, who’ll turn their children out in sensible dresses. But there are other children who come for First Communion and we don’t see them again untill Confirmation,” he said.
“Dresses are going into charity shops the day after First Communion, but the shops can’t sell them, not even for €25, because people can’t be seen to be buying from a charity shop.
“The day of First Holy Communion is a day when the church is available to parents and children free of charge – yet many are going into hundreds of euros of debt.”
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