religious education 2026-2027
Our 6th Year Begins Saturday, Oct 3, 2026!
The F.I.R.E. team is starting to prepare for the new session starting, Saturday, Oct 3, 2026 and runs through, Saturday, May 1, 2027.
Links to Registration Form, Photo Permission Slip and Scheule are below. There is a registration fee break if registered and paid by Aug 24th, 2026.
Please submit the fees to the church office along with the completed Registration Form, Photo Permission Slip, and copies of the Baptism Certificate, First Eucharist Certificate, and Birth Certificate no later than September 1, 2026.
There is an Informational/Orientation Family Potluck on Saturday, Sept 19 from 5:30 to 7:30.
For any questions please call the office at 815-398-0853 ask for Julie Kreye
What is F.I.R.E.?
Family Immersed Religious Education
St. Rita’s Religious Education F.I.R.E. Program is more than a program—it is a journey of faith that invites the whole family to grow together in their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church.
Through a blend of twice-monthly in-person gatherings and home-based faith activities, families are given the opportunity to make faith a meaningful part of daily life. This approach recognizes that parents are the first and most important teachers of the faith, and it supports them in nurturing a living faith within the home. As families pray, learn, and share together, they grow not only in knowledge of the Catholic faith but also in love for one another and for God.
We warmly encourage families to embrace simple but powerful practices that deepen faith: praying together each day, participating in Sunday Mass as a family, and creating regular opportunities for conversations about God’s presence in everyday life.
Our catechists and volunteers are committed to walking alongside families with compassion, understanding, and encouragement. We welcome each family with open hearts, honoring their unique experiences and circumstances. Wherever they may be on their faith journey, we strive to meet them there, accompany them with Christ’s love, and support them as they continue to grow in faith and discipleship.
“Together, with the Lord at the center of our homes, we build strong families, faithful disciples, and a vibrant parish community.”
“Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of human being… sacramental life is impoverished and very soon turns into hollow ritualism if it is not based on serious knowledge of the meaning of the sacraments, and catechesis becomes intellectualized if it fails to come alive in the sacramental practice.”
Past Events
Monstrance activity
Confirmation activity
Baptism activity
Fr. Grady enrolling 2nd graders in the brown scapular.
Holy Orders Activity – Fr. Joel paper doll
Deacon Paul leading decade of the Rosary
Divine Mercy Activity
Confirmation Lenten cross activity
