Friday during Catholic Schools Week for students at St. Mary’s School in Rockville, Maryland, unfolded in a memorable way at St. Mary’s Church on Jan. 31, 2025, as 12 students received their First Holy Communion, including eight of nine students who had been baptized into the Catholic faith at a school Mass in December.
“We have a lot to celebrate today,” said Father Nathanael Anderson, a parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Parish who presided at the Mass and gave those students their First Communion.
Before the Mass, Camille Kroll, the coordinator of religious education at St. Mary’s Parish who is also the coordinator for religious education for grades 5-8 at St. Mary’s School, in an interview reflected on the journey of faith of the students who had been baptized and then were about to receive their First Holy Communion. She noted that their parents had contacted the school and said that “the children love the faith, they love what they’re learning, and they want to be Catholic.”
St. Mary’s School then set up a special elective class taught by Kroll on Tuesday afternoons for those students to learn about the sacraments. “They just wanted to know about Jesus, and that Jesus is pure love,” she said.
In an email, Debra Eisel, the principal of St. Mary’s School, said, “It has been such a special journey for these children to be received into the faith among their peers and their school family.”
She added, “As a convert (myself) at the ripe old age of 10, it has been my mission to help these kids develop a love of God and to want the faith as their own. It is so exciting to know these children have all said ‘yes’ to being Catholic!”
In an interview before the Mass, Eisel noted that she was baptized and received her First Holy Communion as a fourth grader, after being drawn to the faith while going to Mass each weekend with her best friend and her best friend’s mom. “I always felt at home in the church, and I asked to go to CCD with her, and they told me I had to be baptized (first),” she said.
The nine St. Mary’s students who were baptized in December included Sophie Durandal, a fifth grader; Isabelle Salvado, a fourth grader; Mason Salvado, a sixth grader; Brooke Robinson, a third grader; Brayden Robinson, a sixth grader; Alyssa Robinson, a seventh grader; Nolan Alexander, a fifth grader; Chelsea Hermenegildo, a seventh grader; and Frank Tanyi Oben, an eighth grader.
All those students received their First Communion at the January Mass, except Brooke Robinson, who was absent due to an illness, and plans are for her to receive her First Communion at a school Mass at St. Mary’s in February.
Four other St. Mary’s students also received their First Holy Communion at the January Mass: Christopher Tran, a fifth grader; Ariel Varela, an eighth grader; Mariangel Figueroa Parra, a fourth grader; and Blake Anthony, an eighth grader.
As the Mass opened, the 12 students who would be receiving their First Communion processed to the front of the church and sat in the front rows. St. Mary’s students from different grades processed to the altar carrying candles to commemorate the upcoming Candlemas Day on Feb. 2, which marks the presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In his homily, Father Anderson said those candles symbolize how “Jesus is the light of the world.” He encouraged students to allow God’s grace to transform their lives. The priest noted how that morning, those 12 students would receive “the great gift of the Eucharist for the first time,” and he encouraged them to continue to make that an important part of their lives.
Father Anderson told the students that they are called to receive Jesus in the sacraments and to be a light to the world, however God calls them.
Noting that day was also the feast day of St. John Bosco, the patron saint of youth, the priest told them how that saint encouraged young people to have a special devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Later in the Mass, those 12 St. Mary’s students received their First Holy Communion, followed by their fellow students. After the Mass, the priest led the congregation in silent prayer during a five-minute Adoration, and then he led a Eucharistic procession to the school, joined by altar servers as he carried the monstrance and visited and blessed each classroom and the students in those rooms.
Also after the Mass, the 12 students from St. Mary’s School who had just received their First Communion stood together before the altar for a traditional group photo.
After receiving his First Communion that morning, eighth grader Blake Anthony said, “I feel like I’m truly committed to the Catholic faith. I was a bit behind my sacraments,” he explained, adding that now he is excited that he will later get to join his classmates in receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Blake’s mother, Erin Anthony, said, “It means more to me than I can put into words, that St. Mary’s would create an environment that encouraged my son so strongly to embrace his faith as a middle schooler. It’s reinvigorated my own journey of faith.”
She noted that Blake had transferred to St. Mary’s from public school in the fourth quarter of his seventh grade year. “I knew this would be a better place for him. In a few months, he’ll be making his Confirmation, all by his choice,” she said.
Seventh grader Alyssa Robinson, who was among the St. Mary’s students who were baptized at a school Mass in December and then received First Communion that morning, said, “I feel so much closer to God, and I’m so excited to be a part of His family.”
Remembering her Baptism, she said, “I felt so happy, so joyful.”
And Alyssa Robinson said it was very special for her to receive those sacraments at a Mass with all her fellow students from St. Mary’s School. “It was a fun experience, because I was surrounded by all my friends and the people that I love,” she said.
Debra Eisel, now in her 13th year as St. Mary’s principal, said that witnessing their fellow students be baptized and receive First Communion was a special experience for St. Mary’s students. The school has 183 students in the pre-kindergarten through the eighth grade.
“I think it’s really important for our school community to welcome them all in the faith and recognize their part in it,” she said. “I hope that they’ll notice their courage, because all of these children said ‘yes’ on their own.”
The Catholic school principal added, “I think that this is why we do what we do.”
The next evening as part of Catholic Schools Week, St. Mary’s School held a Multicultural Festival, celebrating the different cultures of the school families. The event featured a children’s parade, arts and crafts, food, country displays and family entertainment.
