ABSTRACT
The potential for the parish authorities to control the first communion event was at its strongest during the hour spent by the children and their families in the church for the ritual itself. The aim of the priest was that these Masses should interrupt the pattern of regular Sunday worship as little as possible, so he had not adapted the liturgy to be more suitable to children. At the start of Mass the first communicants were seated with their families in the body of the church. The use of the 'Little Church' was an adaptation of a normal feature of the parish's worship, but the double parading of the children and the extended ritual of holy communion were far from the norm. After the Lord's Prayer, the priest offered the Sign of Peace to each of the children, and directed them to return to their places and exchange that peace with their families.
