Sacrament of Confirmation Process

Eligibility:

Teens who will be at least 16 years of age
and have completed at least eight (8) credits of Catholic Christian Formation
are eligible to enter into the confirmation preparation process.

Bringing teens closer to God and celebrating that faith within the parish community
is the number one goal of this process.

Each teen that is involved in the confirmation process is treated as an individual.

Commit to attending Sunday Liturgy
Choose a sponsor
Commit to a ministry/service
Attend a monthly Confirmation session
Choose a Saint's Name and write a report by January.
Interviews with one of the Directors or adult leader
Attend an afternoon retreat with sponsor
Attend an overnight retreat

The date, time and place will be announced as soon as possible. The date depends on the Bishop’s schedule.

As youth mature, they often enter a questioning phase of spiritual development. Properly respected, this phase can ultimately lead to the internalizing and owning of the faith.

Understanding that parents and families play the most important role in faith formation, the Confirmation preparation process is designed for parental involvement and support. We invite parents to be involved in ministry and service. These activities, along with celebrating Sunday liturgies, and sharing faith experiences as a family, help reinforce the critical importance of fully living the Catholic faith.

Congratulations! A young person has chosen you for a special role in his or her life. A wonderful adventure in the spiritual life awaits the two of you.

As a Confirmation Sponsor, you have accepted the responsibility that is an honor in our church.

Your role is to spirituality walk with the candidate during the preparation for the sacrament. You will be assisting the young person in being a true witness and disciple of Jesus and representing the community when you present your candidate to the Bishop. Your special role does not end at the celebration of the sacrament! You will help the young person fulfill his or her baptismal promises after celebrating the sacrament of confirmation.

Diocesan guidelines require contact hours of formation with sponsors and candidates. Therefore, we will have a half-day retreat for candidates and sponsors.

You will be asked to have your parish office sign a form letter stating that you are a registered member of that parish community and are fully initiated in the Catholic faith. (This means that you are a baptized Catholic, confirmed in the faith and attend Mass on a regular basis.)

To enable the whole parish to become a welcoming community, inviting and enabling the youth to feel at home and to be part of the parish community.

To create a warm, loving atmosphere in which God can touch the lives of youth.

To create an atmosphere of prayer where our youth can have a personal and communal experience with God.

To create an atmosphere in which the faith we share is not fundamentally a list of truths to be believed but a way of life to be lived in relationship with Jesus.

To be attentive to the questions youth might ask, their psychology of learning, their intellectual and emotional maturity.

Half-day retreats are scheduled several times during the year. Directions will be given to candidates or you can find directions on this website under Calendar of Events, click on the date of each retreat for directions.

Name identifies you in a unique way, not just your physical self, but who you are as person. One of the traditional practices in the Church at the time of Confirmation is choosing a name that will remind you of this sacrament. Your prayerful reflection will help you determine that name. You might want to recommit yourself to your Baptismal name since it expresses the relationship that exists between these two sacraments, especially after you reflect on its meaning and discover some of the people who shared your name in Christian history. You might want to choose the name of a saint who represents the type of Christian you wish to be. It is important to learn as much as you can about your patron saint. After all, you are asking this saint to be your friend and advocate for the rest of your life. Whether you decide to stay with your Baptismal name or pick a new name, take the time to research and explore the root meaning of the name, for as Scripture says "Yahweh calls each of us by name."

You will be asked to write a short report on your saint. It can be taken from the internet. This report is due in January.