ICA’s Parish Religious Education Program (PREP) is intended to assist parents in fulfilling their obligation in the formation of their children in the Catholic faith. All families are expected to regularly attend Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. The program is available to public school children of registered ICA parish families.
For any questions or information, please contact the PREP office directly at (914) 961-1076 or via email at [email protected]. Office hours are Tuesday and Wednesday from 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM.
Please do not contact the Parish Center regarding matters pertaining to PREP.
Registration Forms must be submitted in person at the PREP Office
REGISTRATION FEES
*All Fees Must Accompany Registration*
1 Child | $375 |
2 Children | $450 |
3+ Children | $500 |
Sacramental Fee (Communion and Confirmation) |
$125 |
Non-Parishioner | Additional $250 |
Checks or cash are preferable.
If you choose to use the "WeShare" payment system, you must attach a copy of the "Payment Confirmation Receipt" to your Registration Form. Click on this link to go to WeShare. After the page opens, look around WeShare at the collection opportunities and click on the yellow button, "PREP", and follow directions.
All necessary registration forms can be found above. Full payment, including any additional applicable fees, must be submitted at the time of registration.
*Please read the PREP Registration Guidelines for important information regarding registration and policy*
PREP Registration Guidelines
2022-2023 Registration Form
2022-2023 Authorized Student Pick-Up Form
PREP Office Hours
Tuesday and Wednesday from 12:00 Noon to 2:00 PM
PREP Office: (914) 961-1076
Email the PREP Office HERE
*Registration Forms will not be accepted unless accompanied by all applicable fees and all required documents.*
A Registration Form must be fully completed.
*Registration Forms will not be accepted unless accompanied by all applicable fees and all required documents.*
"Each PREP family will be required to buy a 7th Annual Bonanza Lottery Ticket which gives you the opportunity to repeatedly win up to $20,000!
Two tickets are drawn for two $200 prizes for 32 weeks. Winning tickets are reentered for all subsequent drawings! Tickets are $50 each and available in the Parish and PREP Offices. This fulfills what I see as a fundraising obligation to keep PREP and our other parish activities going.”
Jesus invites all of us to spread the message of the Gospel. There can be no higher calling than the call to evangelization. The Parish Religious Education Program (PREP) of the Parish of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Our Lady is looking for dedicated men and women who are willing to serve as catechists, catechist’s aides, hall monitors, and parking lot monitors for this coming academic year. Whether your child is enrolled in PREP or not, we encourage your participation in any level you feel you can serve. Whether you are a man or a woman, young or old, we are all called to serve the Lord in this very important ministry. No experience necessary; we will help you through.
Catechists – adults and college age students who are practicing Catholics
Aides and Monitors – adults, college students, and high school aged students in need of service hours who are practicing Catholics
If you are interested in joining the PREP team as a catechist, aide, or monitor, please fill out the Questionnaire below and return it to the PREP Office.
If you want more information on ministering as a catechist, please contact the PREP Office.
Call the PREP Office at (914) 961-1076
or
send an email to Deacon Orlando HERE
Catechist Questionnaire
As the new academic year approaches, we are asking our veteran catechists to return and seeking new catechists for the Parish Religious Education Program (PREP). As emphasized by Pope Francis, the ministry of catechist is vital to the survival of our church and the salvation of our children.
What is a catechist?
A catechist is much more than a teacher; a catechist is someone who accepts the ministerial role of building life-long faith formation in those who are not yet fully-initiated members of the Church.
Faith formation has four dimensions: human, spiritual, pastoral, and intellectual.
"I am Deacon Frank Orlando, but I tell most people that God knows me as Francis. In November 2020, I was happily transferred to the Parish of Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady; happily, because I know what a terrific parish this is.
I was born and raised in the Pelham Bay section of the Bronx. I was baptized at St. Theresa’s Parish (you may know someone else who was baptized there) and attended Our Lady of the Assumption Grammar School in Pelham Bay and Xavier High School in Manhattan. After graduating from Xavier, I attended the United States Naval Academy for one year and then transferred to Fordham University where I majored in theology.
After graduating from Fordham, I was hired as a full-time religion teacher at Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx. While there, I earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Manhattan College. I was at Mount for 12 years.
I married my wonderful wife Noreen in 1975, and now with two sons married and three grandchildren, my wife and I are members of Immaculate Conception and Assumption.
I went to law school at Pace University and then was admitted to the bar in New York and Massachusetts. I accepted a commission in the United States Coast Guard as a lawyer and spent four years on active duty and 17 years in the reserves. I retired with the rank of Commander. I was ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacon by John Cardinal O’Connor on June 24, 1989, the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist.
As a civilian attorney, I worked as a senior associate at a national insurance defense firm, a partner in a local New Rochelle firm, a solo practitioner and an assistant general counsel for a property insurance company. At my last parish, I served as the Director of Religious Education.
If you ask me what my profession is, I find it to be a very difficult question. I think my answer would have to be deacon/attorney/teacher. I often tell people I traded the classroom for the courtroom and the courtroom for the pulpit. I taught theology in the evening division of Fordham University and law at Iona College and at Monroe College.
Several years ago, Cardinal Dolan asked me to take on the responsibility of directing the Formation Program for the Permanent Deacons in the Archdiocese of New York. It is a task I embraced with great love and joy.
All of that led me here to the Parish of Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady, as a deacon and as the new Director of Religious Education. I’m looking forward to working with all the parishioners as well as with the catechists, staff, parents and students in PREP."
- Deacon Orlando
Pictured Above: Deacon Orlando, his wife Noreen, and their grandsons Liam and Conor
Pictured Below: Deacon Orlando (front left) with Pope Francis