A First Communion Memory

The month of May ushers in all sorts of rites of passage - from final exams to graduations, baptisms, and, in the Roman Catholic Church, First Communion. At Saint Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Arlington, VA, over 100 children received their First Communion over the course of two days. The boys, dressed in dark suits, and the girls, in the white dresses and veils that symbolize purity, lined up and marched into the church, two by two. Watching these children, I thought about my own First Communion, decades ago. I hope that their memories of their day will be as dear to them as mine are to me.

Getting last minute instructions before service, photo by Shannon Finney, Arlington, VA, May 2013

The somber walk down the aisle as the service ends, photo by Shannon Finney, Arlington, VA, May 2013 

The children is all smiles at the photo-op following their First Communion, photo by Shannon Finney, Arlington, VA, May 2013