Confirmation: Confirmation and Mass

Confirmation – what is it?

Along with baptism and communion , confirmation is one of the three sacraments of initiation in the Catholic Church, with which a young person is initiated into the church. Confirmation is comparable to confirmation, which is celebrated in the evangelical church.

The word “Confirmation” comes from Latin and means something like “affirmation” or “confirmation” and that is exactly what is celebrated. The youth who are confirmed confirm their membership in the Church and repeat their creed. On the threshold of adulthood, they make a conscious decision to belong to the Catholic faith community. With Confirmation, young people are recognized by the Catholic Church as adults and given the power to spread and defend their faith in word and deed.

At Confirmation, the bishop who administers the Confirmation prays that the Holy Spirit will strengthen the youth for their future life and endow them with His gifts. Catholics believe these are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit:

• wisdom
• insight
• advice
• Understanding
• Strength
• piety
• godliness

Conditions for Confirmation

If you want to send your child to Confirmation, they must meet certain requirements that are prescribed by most parishes:

• Your child must be baptized.
• You must register your child at the parish office.
• Your child should be able to understand the importance of confirmation and make a conscious decision as to whether or not they want to go to confirmation.
• There is no fixed age for Confirmation. However, your child must be at least twelve years old. As a rule, however, confirmands are around 13 to 16 years old. It is still possible to go to Confirmation at a later date. For example, if someone wants to get married in a church or get a job with a church, confirmation may be required. This can then easily be made up for in adulthood.
• Your child must attend a preparatory course offered in your community. There, the young people deal with various questions of faith and religious principles, get involved together in social projects and take on tasks in the community. If your child is not sure whether they want to go to confirmation, there is often the possibility that they will only decide for or against it during this preparatory course.
• Before your child is admitted, they must make their confession.

process of confirmation

Confirmation is usually administered by a high church representative, i.e. by a bishop or an auxiliary bishop. In exceptional cases, an ordinary priest can also perform the ceremony if he has received a special order from the responsible bishop.

The confirmation of the young people takes place in a mass, for which each parish agrees a separate date with the responsible diocese. The fair has the following procedure.

expiry of the fair

• First is the opening prayer.
• The confirmands renew their baptismal promises by professing their faith and promising to turn away from evil.
• The Bishop who gives Confirmation raises his arms over the Confirmed and asks that the Holy Spirit descend on them and impart His gifts to them.
• The bishop places his right hand on the head of each confirmee and draws a cross on his forehead with blessed oil, the so-called chrism. Meanwhile, the godfather places his right hand on the shoulder of the confirmee as a sign of support.
• Then follows a joint prayer with the assembled congregation.
• The bishop gives a final blessing.
• Then the Lord’s Supper is celebrated and the Mass ends.

However, the respective customs for confirmation depend strongly on the region. In some congregations it is also still common for young people to choose the name of a saint, which they can then use as their firm name if they wish.

Confirmation: Godfather

Every young person is allowed to bring a godparent to their confirmation, usually the godparent. However, your child can also choose another person if they want to or if the godfather is no longer so close to them. A godparent must be at least 16 years old, a member of the Catholic Church and already confirmed. In the past, confirmation was usually celebrated alone with the godparent, while today more and more larger family celebrations are being held, similar to communion.

Confirmation gifts

Gifts should not be the focus of a confirmation, because the day is not celebrated as much as communion. But if you still want to give something to make the confirmand happy, that’s fine, of course. However, the gifts should at most be a nice side effect of the confirmation.

A popular gift for confirmation is money, which can make sense in many cases, since many young people are saving for an expensive purchase or a larger wish. Young people often donate part of the money they receive as a gift. In any case, a gift of money for a young person is quite appropriate, as it also gives them a piece of self-determination.

Traditionally, things are given away for confirmation that can still have a non-material value in a few years, such as jewelery or a book. The custom of giving the candidate a watch as a gift is also widespread.

clothing for confirmation

A confirmation is usually a little more casual than a communion or a confirmation . This is also evident in the clothing of the confirmands. It used to be common for boys to wear dark suits and girls to wear white blouses and dark skirts. Today it is sufficient if the clothing is appropriate for the festive occasion. A decent pair of jeans and a plain top are fine. Your child should only dress up as they want to make themselves comfortable on their special day.