Being a packrat can be good

So ... still no baptism certificate. When I scheduled our appointment to meet with the priest yesterday, he asked where my baptism certificate was. So I called the wedding coordinator at my church back to see if it had shown up yet. No. In talking with her, I asked why, again, couldn't I just give her the baptism certificate from my baby book? And then I learned something I never knew before!

In the Catholic church, she said, the church you were baptized in is responsible for "tracking" you (sacramentally at least) through your life! So when I made my First Communion, it should be noted on the back of the certificate, and when I got Confirmed, it also should have been noted. The churches where I received these sacraments should have communicated with the church I was baptized in to make sure the certificate was kept up to date. And NOW, with my upcoming marriage, the church I was baptized in needs to take the certificate with these notations and dates, stamp it with a date no more than six months prior to now and send it to where I am getting married.

And here is the problem, because I have been trying to get this certificate for THREE MONTHS. Still not here. The priest is now sending a letter. And my mom called today and name dropped that she knew someone who worked for the church:) In order, me, the wedding coordinator and my mom have all spoken to someone with the same first name. But today, this person claimed to have never heard of me or to have promised three times to send the info (granted, there could be more than one person with the same first name, but in a small church, how likely is that?!)

So I'm wondering: Is my certificate missing? Did someone lose it?

In any case. Here is proof #3 and #4 that I am Catholic. Now, the First Communion one is pretty obvious (that's me in the first row, left-middle girl!), but I know the Confirmation one might be less so. But think about it: How many 14-year-olds would wear a felt stole with their Confirmation name on it if they weren't getting Confirmed? It was definitely NOT some strange 1990 fashion. It was required. (That's my Confirmation sponsor, Jeanne, in the picture with me too!) Should I really need to find more proof, I will go through my boxes at my parents' house. Because I am 99% sure that I can find the programs for both my First Communion AND Confirmation.

Sorry for such a religious/historical post, but it's just what's going on. And regardless of your religion, you probably just learned something important to genealogy too!

I feel like I'm going to court with my evidence bags, but I AM READY!