Confirmation

The following is required of students preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation:

Two-year program, beginning in 7th grade and completion in 8th grade
● Have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, and Eucharist
● Regular attendance at weekend Mass

● Parent/Student Meeting (both 7th & 8th)
● Attendance at regular Faith Formation classes, which includes lessons on the Sacrament of Confirmation.
● Completion of homework for any absence
● Complete community service as described below
These additional requirements are for eighth grade only:
● Attend Confirmation Retreat
● Complete & turn in required documents
● Confirmation Practice
● Sacrament of Confirmation

Community Service for 7th & 8th Grade:

In order to prepare yourself to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, it is important that you spend time going out into the world and being Christ to others.  There are many ways you can do that, and to help you start, below are four categories that introduce you to new and familiar ways to serve others, including your family.

Students need to complete one project for each category:  Family, Parish, Community, and Spiritual.  How to obtain the required service will be covered in the parent/student meeting.

NOTE: If your child has not made their Confirmation and is past eighth grade—or—if you are an adult, have received your other sacraments, and wish to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, please call the director at 219-924-4220, #2 for Faith Formation.

You are asked to choose someone to be your sponsor for Confirmation. This person can be either male or female. He/she must be a baptized, confirmed, practicing Catholic whom you admire for the Christian values you see in his/her life. It is desirable that the one who undertook the role of sponsor at Baptism be sponsor for Confirmation.

Your sponsor will be an important person in your faith life. He/she is to accompany you on your journey towards greater faith, hope and love. Your sponsor should be someone you admire, someone who has qualities in his/her life that you would like to have. He/she should be someone who can encourage you, listen to you, and share his/her own experience of faith with you. This person should be someone you are comfortable with, someone who will accept you and your questions about life. A good sponsor is one who likes you, cares about you and will be with you on your faith journey. This person should be able to spend some special time with you. This special time can help you get to know your sponsor better and learn some good things about yourself.

Requirements for Confirmation Sponsors:
(Taken from The Code of Canon Law, canons 874, 892 and 893)

To perform the role of sponsor, a person must fulfill the following conditions:

● Not be the father or mother of the one to be confirmed
● Be at least sixteen years of age, having received Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation
● Be a practicing Catholic, participating in the Mass on Sundays and Holy Days, receiving the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation regularly
● If married, be validly married according to the laws of the Catholic Church. If divorced, not have remarried outside of the Catholic Church.

“The sponsor’s function is to take care that the person confirmed behaves as a true witness of
Christ and faithfully fulfills the duties inherent in this sacrament.”  Canon 892

Confirmation Saint Report