Confirmation

The sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the sacraments of initiation and helps the candidate to accept the commitments made at baptism and take their place as a full member of the Church.

In most cases our young people normally start to prepare for Confirmation after they enter secondary school. Parents are asked to contact Father as early as possible so that arrangements for preparation can be made.

For parents, you are "the first teachers of your child in the ways of faith" as it says in the Baptismal ceremony, and this is a role that will continue for some years.

There are some specific activities which parents and young people can undertake to assist with the preparation process:

Firstly to go through the Third Eucharistic Prayer and see the number of times the Holy Spirit is mentioned.
Secondly to look at the possible meanings of the word seal. It is used in the ceremony "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Thirdly, the choice of a Saint, under whose patronage your child will be confirmed, (It is possible to use the name of one's Baptismal Patron Saint), and you can follow up this by looking up the life of the Saint. We can help you with information if you would like.

For Confirmation a Sponsor will be needed. One of the Godparents would be appropriate, or another practising Catholic who knows the candidate. Parents are not able to be Sponsors.

An adult Catholic who may have missed out on Confirmation earlier in their life is welcome to contact Father to discuss arrangements to prepare for Confirmation.

The Sacrament is usually conferred by a Bishop but this year, Archbishop Peter Smith will be at Our Lady's for the ceremony on Sunday 20th November 2016 during the 10:30 am Mass.

There is no need to worry about what is going to happen on the day or what you will need to do as we will have a rehearsal on the Saturday before where any of your questions will be answered.

conf 2021