2025-2026 Family Faith Formation (Religious Education)
Confirmation Retreat at St. Mary Church on March 21
This is an alternate retreat option for students who can't participate in the St. Joseph the Worker Pastorate Confirmation Retreat on April 17-19.
The Diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis is hosting a day-long Confirmation retreat at St. Mary Church, Platteville on Saturday, March 21 from 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Through engaging talks, activities, and opportunities for prayer, the retreat will focus on deepening relationship with Christ and equipping candidates with tools for growing that relationship. Please fill out and turn in the registration forms to your parish office before March 5.Please inform the office if there are any dietary restrictions for your students. Confirmation Retreat Registration Forms
Parent First Communion Orientation Information
Unfortunately, the First Communion meeting for parents had to cancelled due to the weather. The materials are available at the parish or school offices so families can complete a do-it-yourself retreat. Families are also encouraged to watch this video that would have been shown at the meeting.
This year, St. Mary’s in Bloomington, St. Clement in Lancaster, and Ss. Andrew-Thomas and St. Charles will host religious education nights once a month. The evening will begin at 6 pm - 6:30 pm with a meal. Then, from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm, Fr. Mark will give a lesson to parents, Fr. Sudhakar will teach 2nd grade for first reconciliation/first holy communion, and Fr. Steve will teach 7th and 8th graders. The other grade levels will be taught by catechists. This style of religious education is called “Family Faith Formation,” and the goal is to teach both adults and children, with Fr. Mark equipping parents to hand on the faith to their children at home. Technically, the “Family Faith Formation” curriculum is intended for grades K-6, and Fr. Steve will be teaching a different curriculum to the 7th and 8th graders.
Families are asked to attend class the first Wednesday evening each month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. (a meal will be provided for the family). The rest of the month, you will work through the materials as a family at home. Your home is the Domestic Church. It is where families live out the faith daily.
TEC Retreat What is TEC? TEC (Together Encountering Christ) is an experience in Catholic Christian living, especially designed for adults and young people ages 15 and up
Retreat for Parents at St. Mary Church, Platteville on March 7. RSVP to Angie Snyder at [email protected] or 608-732-6329 by February 22, so they can plan for food and child care. Parents may still register after this date.
TEC Retreat What is TEC? TEC (Together Encountering Christ) is an experience in Catholic Christian living, especially designed for adults and young people ages 15 and up
Have you ever felt like what you are doing or where you are at just isn’t really your destination in life? Could it be that you are not just called to a new job or a different apartment, but to a whole new life? Might religious life be the life for you? I am Sister Kathleen Murphy and that whole new life came to me when I became a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity! It wasn’t a long journey from my farm home in the Diocese of Madison to our beautiful motherhouse in Manitowoc, and yet it was a chance to experience a God-given adventure. If you are up to enter on such a journey, visit my Community at https://fscc-calledtobe.org or even think about an in person stay with us here in Manitowoc, WI. As the Gospel urges, “Come and see!”