Initial Setup for Sacraments
An outline of the initial setup requirements for sacraments, including configuration steps and navigation options for both Catholic and non-Catholic menus.
Before You Begin
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Hide or rename any pages labeled as "Sacraments".
- To hide a page (if you no longer need it), an admin can go to and remove the Page Permissions for the old page from all security roles.
- To rename a page (if you plan to use it for something else), an admin can go to , locate the old page, and change the Display Name and any other fields as needed.
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Consider hiding any related fields you may have added to reduce clutter in your system.
- To hide a field that's no longer needed, an admin can go to , locate the old field, and set Hidden to Yes.
- You should also make sure the old field has Required set to No, and enter a Default Value if applicable. This can help minimize friction during the transition from your custom solution to the Sacraments feature.
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Let your staff know about this change!
- That way, staff will understand where their familiar pages or fields went and what they should use instead.
Available Sacrament Pages
Here's what the Sacrament section looks like in Catholic and non-Catholic navigation menus, with all available options included:
| Catholic Menu | Non-Catholic Menu |
Determine Which Sacraments to Track
- Catholic instances see:
- Baptism
- First Communion
- Confirmation
- Marriage
- Holy Orders
- Non-Catholic instances see:
- Baptism
- Marriage
Other pages (like Reconciliation Prep and Anointing of the Sick) are also available. If you want to show, hide, or rename any of these pages, contact Support for assistance with modifying System Lookups.
Add the Necessary Locations
It may be important to note the locations where sacraments are performed. This is usually a parish or sacrament place in your diocese or district.
Catholic instances have a default list of dioceses and parishes, but you can add more as needed. Non-Catholic instances can decide whether to add their organization's structure into MinistryPlatform. You may choose to only add the necessary locations.
- In the navigation menu, click or Districts.
- Check to make sure the location you want to add is not already in the list.
- Click New at the top.
- Enter the necessary information.
- Click Save.
- In the navigation menu, click .
- Check to make sure the location you want to add is not already in the list.
- Click New at the top.
- Enter the necessary information.
- For Diocese/District, select the associated location.
- Click Save.
Define Sponsor Types
Sponsor types describe the role of the person in relation to a sacrament. This may be a person who will guide and assist a candidate (such as a godparent), a witness or proxy, or even the next of kin (which is important when recording death and funeral information).
Some sponsor types are set up by default, but you can add or edit them as needed.
- In the navigation menu, click .
- Click New at the top, or open an existing sponsor type to edit it.
- Enter the necessary information.
- Click Save.
Give Users Access
Initially, the Sacraments section and pages are only visible to Admin users (those with Admin set to Yes). You must give people permission to view and manage sacramental records using a security role. You can add a new security role or update existing ones to include this access.