This is the First Holy Communion certificate of my husband's great-grandfather, Anthony Schroeder. Isn't it beautiful?
Here is a close-up of the written section of the certificate. The writing is faint, but still legible (thank goodness!). He received his first communion on May 31, 1908 in St. Patrick's Church in St. Patrick (Shelby Co.), Ohio. The presiding priest was Rev. J. H. Metzdorf.
Here is a newspaper clipping from The Minster Post listing the small group of first communicants that day. Anton Schroeder is named first in the list.
©2016 Emily Kowalski Schroeder
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The children in our parish made their First Holy Communion this weekend, so I thought I would share some photos from my First Communion. In the Roman Catholic Church, children typically receive their First Communion in April or May of their second grade year. It's a big deal for the kids and their families; the boys wear suits and ties and the girls wear pretty white dresses with veils. Many families celebrate with large family parties. I made my first communion in 1987 at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Parma, Ohio. Here are me and my classmates in the church with our teachers and Fr. Werner, who is standing right at the center. Fr. Werner was one of the older priests in our parish at the time, and he was more or less "in charge" of ministry to the younger kids at St. Anthony. He would visit our classrooms and tell us stories or just let us ask him questions. His hands would shake a little, and I remember that he'd always keep a tissue up his robe sleeve. We enjoyed his visits and we all remember him fondly. I was not (and still am not) a girly girl. I remember shopping in the storewith my mom for a communion dress and hating ALL of them in the stores. They were too lacy or too poofy and I just didn't like any of the styles So, my Great Aunt Helen, who was a pretty talented seamstress, made one for me. I picked out the fabric and specified that I didn't like a lot of lace or "fanciness." And it turned out great! Looking at the photos, I STILL really like it; I think it's a pretty classic design. (Not surprisingly, I had similar troubles when searching for a wedding dress, but that's a tale for another day.) I'm not going to try to make excuses for my hairstyle; it was 1987. :-)
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