Sacraments — How It Works

Who: A parishioner or family.   Goal: Start a sacrament request (e.g. Baptism, Confirmation, a wedding, or a certificate).

1. Open the parish website and tap Sacraments.
2. Choose the sacrament. You'll see a short "What you'll need" list (documents, classes, sponsors) so there are no surprises.
3. Fill in the simple form — your details, and a few questions specific to that sacrament (for a Confirmation: the candidate, sponsor, saint name).
4. Tap Submit request.

Result: You get a case number to keep — your reference for everything that follows.

Who: A parishioner with a fee-bearing request.   Goal: Pay securely by card.

1. If the sacrament has a fee, you go straight to a secure checkout after submitting.
2. Pay by card. The total — and any small convenience fee — is shown clearly before you pay.
3. Prefer to pay in person? Choose "Pay later — at the parish office." (Unless your parish requires payment up front.)

Result: Your fee is marked paid and a receipt is emailed to you.

Who: Anyone with a case number.   Goal: See the status and what's still needed — without calling the office.

1. Go to Sacraments → Track a request and enter your case number.
2. See your current status and a checklist of what's still needed (✓ done, ○ pending).

Result: You always know where things stand.

Who: A signed-in parishioner.   Goal: Send required papers (baptismal certificate, sponsor letter…).

1. Sign in, then open your request from the tracker.
2. Choose the document type and upload a PDF or a photo from your phone.

Result: The parish office receives it securely and checks it off your list.

Who: A parishioner whose request is approved.   Goal: Know the celebration date and receive the certificate.

1. Once the office confirms everything, you're notified of the date by email.
2. After the celebration, your certificate is recorded and can be issued to you.

Result: A clear date, and an official record of the sacrament.

Who: A parishioner.   Goal: Have a Mass offered for someone — a loved one who has died, an anniversary, healing, or in thanksgiving.

1. Open the parish website and tap Mass Intentions.
2. Pick a date and Mass. You can see which Masses still have openings — full Masses are marked, so there's never a double-booking.
3. Write the intention (e.g. "† John Romero" or "In thanksgiving"), and choose whether your name may be listed publicly in the bulletin.
4. Add the customary offering if your parish collects one online — or choose to give it in person.
5. Tap Request.

Result: The office is notified, and you're told when your intention is confirmed for that Mass.

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Manage many requests efficiently.

1. Open Sacrament Cases to see every request and certificate.
2. Search by name, case number, or email; filter by sacrament, by status, or by cohort/year (e.g. "Confirmation 2025–2026").
3. Page through the list — it stays fast even with hundreds of candidates a year.

Result: The right cases in seconds, however large the parish.

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Move a single request from request to scheduled.

1. Open a case. A progress bar shows the lifecycle, and a "Next step" note tells you exactly what to do now.
2. Tick off each requirement (met / waived). Verify uploaded documents. Add the people on the case (sponsors, godparents).
3. When the required items are met, the case is "Cleared to schedule." Set the date — it lands on the parish calendar and the family is notified.

Result: Nothing slips through the cracks; the family's checklist updates automatically.

Who: Faith formation / staff.   Goal: Manage a whole class together (Confirmation, First Communion, RCIA).

1. Open Sacrament Programs and create a cohort for the year.
2. Enroll candidates, then add each class session and take attendance from its roster (present / late / excused / absent, with notes). Each candidate's attendance % is figured for you.
3. Tap "Schedule cohort" to set the celebration date on every enrolled candidate at once.

Result: One place for the class schedule, who showed up, and one action that schedules 150 candidates — no one-by-one busywork. Candidates can watch their own progress in their portal.

Who: RCIA / OCIA coordinator.   Goal: Take someone from first interest to the Easter Vigil.

1. They apply on your public RCIA registration form — baptism history, sponsor, and marital questions included. If they have an account, it autofills from their profile.
2. On the case, fill in the Interview panel: who you met, and the resolved status — catechumen (unbaptized) or candidate (already baptized) — which sets their path.
3. Enroll them in your RCIA cohort and take attendance at each session (above).
4. Record each rite as it happens in Rites & milestones — Acceptance, Election, the three Scrutinies, the Easter Vigil. Dates fixed by the calendar are pre-filled for you.
5. After the Vigil, tap "Record into registers" — it writes the right register entries (a catechumen's Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist; a baptized candidate is never re-baptized).

Result: The whole journey — intake, interview, classes, rites, and the official records — in one case.

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Keep the official record and produce a certificate.

1. When a case is celebrated, tap "Record in registry" — it pre-fills from the case.
2. In the Sacrament Registry, finish the entry (book/page) and issue a certificate the family can print.

Result: A permanent parish record and an official certificate.

Who: Parish staff.   Goal: Triage intention requests and keep each Mass's offerings straight.

1. Open Admin → Mass Intentions. New requests gather in a "Needs review" queue at the top — decide each with Confirm or Decline. They stay pinned on top until you act, so nothing is missed.
2. Everything you've already decided is listed below, grouped by Mass date. Search by name or intention, and filter by status (confirmed / fulfilled / declined) or by Upcoming vs. Past.
3. After a Mass is celebrated, mark its intentions Fulfilled. Each card shows the offering and whether it's paid.
4. Open Settings to set the maximum intentions per Mass, the suggested offering, whether the offering must be paid to confirm, and whether confirmed intentions are listed publicly.
5. Print the daily celebrant worship-aid or the weekly intention sheet for the sacristy from the buttons up top.

Result: New requests never slip, every Mass's offerings are tracked, and the celebrant has a printed sheet for the altar.

Who: Pastor / office manager.   Goal: Accept fees online.

1. Open Admin → Payments, connect the parish's account (Stripe), and turn on online payments.
2. Optionally add a small convenience fee so card costs are covered, or require payment up front.
3. Set each sacrament's fee amount in the Sacrament Catalog.

Result: Fees collected online, deposited straight to the parish.

Who: Pastor / office manager.   Goal: Let a volunteer coordinator run one sacrament without full office access.

1. In the Sacrament Catalog, assign a Sacrament Lead — e.g. an RCIA director or baptism coordinator — to a sacrament.
2. They can now work the cases, cohorts, and class sessions for that sacrament only (and appear as its point of contact), without seeing the rest of the office.

Result: The right volunteer owns each sacrament; the office stays focused, and every action is still recorded in the activity log.