52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 17: At Worship: First Communion Through Time

This is my second year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails Into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

My father’s side of the family were Irish and German immigrants who were all Roman Catholics. We were all baptized as infants and when we were in the 2nd grade, we took our First Communion. I was attending Catholic school, so it was all part of the curriculum. My siblings, however, attended CCD and completed their First Communion classes either after school or on Saturdays.

I have the photo collection of my family, so have quite a few First Communion photos, taken on the same day (none are actually taken in the church).

The first photo is of my two aunts, Lorene and Virginia Hork, and their cousin, Mary Patterson. Their First Communion was held in 1931 at St. George’s Catholic Church in Ontario, California. Now, I have no idea why the two aunts had it in the same year. Perhaps the church did the event every other year. Lorene was born in August 1923, Virginia in January 1925, and Mary in December 1923. None of them would have been in the same grade at school.

Lorene, June, Mary

In 1937, my dad had his First Communion. He is the boy to the right of the middle girl. There are definitely older children in this photo, so it was possible to have multiple-aged children having this sacrament.

My First Communion happened in 1962 at St. Peter Martyr Church in Pittsburg, California. It must have happened sometime in March because many of the girls who came to my birthday party wore their white dresses.