Bella Leahy was supposed to receive her first Communion at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church on April 25.

When COVID-19 put a temporary stop to public celebration of Mass in March, that was postponed until Aug. 8, when Bella and her family took part in one of four scheduled first Communion Masses at the parish.

The Mass, which included eight first communicants and their families, was a more low-key affair than what was originally planned, said Bella’s father, Brennan Leahy. There was no procession of the children into the church, no children bringing up the gifts or proclaiming the readings. Instead, the focus was solely on the Eucharist.

“She was a little shy and a little nervous,” Leahy said. “It worked out to her benefit. I think she enjoyed it a little more. It was very personal.”

The Leahy family’s experience is one that is being repeated across the Archdiocese of Chicago this summer, with first Communion Masses scheduled anywhere from the end of June through August or into the fall.

The liturgies generally include smaller groups of children, meaning most parishes must schedule more first Communion Masses.

They must follow the procedures for all liturgies, including keeping a record of who attended, maintaining social distance between members of different households, hand sanitizing and wearing face coverings.

Bella is the youngest of five children in the family, and all of them were able to attend her first Communion Mass, her father said.

Just being back in church “was an emotional experience,” said Leahy, whose children attend religious education at St. Catherine of Alexandria and who was a catechist for several years.

Father Dennis Ziomek, pastor at St. Catherine of Alexandria, said the parish planned four Masses to accommodate all 59 children and their families, two on Aug. 8 and two on Aug. 15. Families also had the option of doing first Communion individually at a regular Sunday Mass.

Katie Whitney, whose daughter Nora also made her first Communion Aug. 8, said it worked out well.

It was a different experience for Nora than for her older sister, Whitney said, with no trip to the hairdresser ahead of time and no big party afterward. Katie Whitney did her daughter’s hair, Nora wore a white lace mask her grandmother bought, and the family celebrated with lunch on a restaurant patio and backyard cupcakes with a few other close relatives.

The dress Nora wore for Mass was different than the one she wore in her first Communion pictures, which were taken just before the pandemic closed the doors of churches and schools. Nora outgrew that dress — one her mother bought for her — between the spring and summer. Fortunately, her sister’s dress was a size larger and fit.

Whitney said the family considered celebrating Nora’s first Communion at a regular Sunday Mass so she could do it a little sooner, but it was important to Nora to do it with her classmates.

“She wanted to be with her friends,” Whitney said.

Leahy and Whitney said their children understood why their Communions had to be delayed and why they had to be done in smaller groups.

Parishes are working to prepare their first communicants for the new procedures, from checking in when they arrive at church to how to approach the celebrant for Communion and where and how to remove their masks to consume the host.

They also find that offering multiple dates is helpful, since the notice is much shorter than it is for first Communion usually.

“We actually made a video of what to expect when you come to church, so they knew actually how to receive Communion, what to do with their mask,” said Sandra Bustamente, director of religious education at St. Ann Parish in Lansing. “There was a lot of logistics and planning, who will be attending, how many will be attending with each child.”

St. Ann did its first Communion Masses in July, after having first reconciliations on the first weekend of the month. For that, children were scheduled in 20-minute intervals with five priests to allow time for disinfecting their chairs and to avoid any crowding.

The feedback on the smaller group celebrations has been good.

“They felt it was more personal,” Bustamente said. “It was only about eight kids per group, and with the preparation, they all knew what to expect.”