In the Roman Catholic tradition, the month of May is usually the time of “First Communion.” On Saturdays and Sundays in early May, you can still see processions of children dressed in white as they enter church to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. The age for this event varies, but it usually occurs in the second or third grade. In the past, as you will see in the “vintage” photos below, First Communion occurred in first grade. In celebration of May and First Communions everywhere, here are some photos of my father’s First Communion Day – May 11, 1941. Today boys don’t usually wear shorts and knee socks!
James A. Pointkouski's First Communion Day, May 11, 1941
There are several photos of the procession of children into the church, St. Peter’s, located at 5th & Girard Avenues (today the church is also the national shrine of St. John Neumann). In the first photo below, you can see my father as the fourth child from the left in the row closest to the nun. He appears to have noticed the photographer! The photo that follows shows him walking out of the photo’s range. The final photo shows the girls in the procession – and since I’m sure that the rules did not change by the time I made my communion in 1975, the children are likely lined up in alphabetical order. Therefore, one of those gals is likely my dad’s first cousin, Rita Bergmeister.
Procession of First Communicants, St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, PA
Hi Donna,
Your post was especially interesting to me as my youngest grandson just had his First Communion May 2nd. Not being Catholic I have not attended but a few services in the Catholic Church, but the 150 plus boys and girls looked beautiful in their various dress. The girls all wore bridal veils and white dresses; however, the boys wore dress suits with white dress shirts. Your father was such a beautiful child. Thank you so much for this post. I’m trying to learn more about my daughter-in-law’s faith and find it be very rewarding.
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Donna -
These are beautiful photographs. Thanks for sharing your treasures with us! The portrait of your Dad posing with the Sacred Heart statue is very special. I just love the procession of the children awaiting the big moment of their First Eucharist. This must have been a truly special day for them.
Lisa
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I lived in Philadelphia in the 50′s and went to Catholic School. The Procession in the pictures may have been a May procession in which the children dressed in white and marched to an outdoor statue of Mary singing hymns about Mary. Then the statue was crowned with a wreath of flowers. May was Mary’s month and this was a way to honor her.