Baptism Seminar is mandatory for first child.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

1213 Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water and in the word.”

Baptism Seminar Policy 
First-time Parents and Godparents MUST attend a  Baptism Seminar prior to a child's Baptism. Seminars are held on the first Monday* of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Discipleship Center. To register call the Parish Office at 504-733-0922.
(*exceptions due to parish special events or civil holidays.)

Baptisms at St. Mary Magdalen

Parish Baptisms will take place on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 11:30 a.m., immediately following the 10:30 a.m. Mass. Baptismal dates are scheduled through the Parish Office. Please contact the office at 504-733-0922 to arrange a baptismal date. 

New Orleans Archdiocese Policy on Baptisms

Candidates who have been baptized in the Catholic Church must have attained the age of reason (7 years of age) and must have had 2 consecutive years of Catholic religious instruction prior to reception of these sacraments. Contact Melanie Gaumond, Parish Director of Religious Education, at [email protected] for further information.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Reconciliation
1422 “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.”

1424 "It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who reconciles: “Be reconciled to God.”7 He who lives by God’s merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord’s call: “Go; first be reconciled to your brother.”

Communion
1323 “At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.’”

HIGH SCHOOL CONFIRMATION PROGRAM

This Confirmation Program is for High School students beginning their Junior year  who are attending Catholic, private, or public schools. The immediate preparation for the sacrament of Confirmation assumes that the candidate has been learning about the Catholic faith at home, in Catholic religious education classes, and through parish celebrations of the liturgy. In preparing for Confirmation, candidates will review the Deposit of Faith given to us by Jesus and reflect on what the Catholic faith means to them on both a personal and a communal level.  Beginning every August, Confirmation preparation classes are held monthly on Sunday nights at 7:15 p.m. (following the 6:00 p.m. Mass.) For more information or to register for High School Confirmation, please contact Melanie S. Gaumond, the Director of Religious Education, at [email protected] or 504-766-8163. 

ADULT CONFIRMATION CLASSES

This Confirmation Program is for adult Catholics (18 & over) who wish to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  Candidates must be baptized Catholic, have received 1st Communion and have received some instructiuon in the faith. Classes are held during the Easter Season with the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation at the St. Louis Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday. PRE-Registration is required. For more information please contact Melanie Gaumond, the Director of Religious Education, at [email protected] or 504-766-8163. 

2024 Adult Confirmation Classes 
Every Thursday night from April 18 - May 16 in the Discipleship Center from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Confirmation will take place at St. Louis Cathedral on Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2024.
 
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the “sacraments of Christian initiation,” whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.  For “by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.”

Contact Parish priest at least 6 to 8 months prior to planned date of marriage to begin  marriage preparation.

 Weddings at St. Mary Magdalen are celebrated Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, early afternoons, or evenings. Church Fee: $300; Chapel Fee: $100.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1601 “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.”

Witness to Love Marriage Preparation Ministry- A model of marriage formation for engaged couples that facilitates an authentic dialogue about their relationship. Jack and Linda Biven [email protected] 

Better Together Marriage Ministry - A marriage enrichment program from Dynamic Catholic for couples who desire to enrich their relationship. Carolyn Trahan. [email protected]  

CARE OF THE SICK: Holy Communion is brought weekly to those who are homebound  by Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Contact the parish office to request Holy Communion for the Homebound. 504-733-0922.

The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is available on an individual basis by appointment.  Please call the Rectory 504-733-0922.

1499 “By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ.”

1572 Given the importance that the ordination of a bishop, a priest, or a deacon has for the life of the particular Church, its celebration calls for as many of the faithful as possible to take part. It should take place preferably on Sunday, in the cathedral, with solemnity appropriate to the occasion. All three ordinations, of the bishop, of the priest, and of the deacon, follow the samemovement. Their proper place is within the Eucharistic liturgy.
1573 The essential rite of the sacrament of Holy Orders for all three degrees consists in the bishop’s imposition of hands on the head of the ordinand and in the bishop’s specific consecratory prayer asking God for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and his gifts proper to the ministry to which the candidate is being ordained.