Receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation completes your initiation into the Catholic Church and empowers you to live out the faith. Through Confirmation you are “more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC 1285)
In Fall 2024, preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation through the Life Teen Purpose Program opens to the entire Diocese. The aim of Purpose is to provide a youth ministry-type environment for students to encounter Jesus and the Holy Spirit, choose their faith and prepare for Confirmation. You can learn more about the Purpose program on Life Teen’s website.
Purpose is the sole and mandatory Confirmation program for youth in the Diocese. Parishes should begin to launch their Confirmation programs in either Fall 2024 or Fall 2025.
Youth should begin the two-year process between the ages of 12-14 years old, though older high school students can join if they miss the earlier window. They can be confirmed between ages 13-18 after finishing the two-year discernment process.
FAQ for Parents:
- Why should I (or my child) receive the Sacrament of Confirmation?
-
When you were baptized, you received the life of God within you. You walk as a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit there is nothing you are missing. Confirmation, however, will complete your initiation into the Faith, stirring up those graces within you and fully integrating those seven gifts of the Holy Spirit into your soul. This means not only carrying God within you like a box in your heart but carrying God within you like blood in your veins. You will have not only the privilege but the responsibility to move from a disciple who receives Jesus to an apostle who carries Jesus into the world.
- Why did the Diocese switch the age of Confirmation from Restored Order to this new age?
-
Studies show that young adults who leave the Catholic Church stop identifying as Catholics at a median age of 13, long before leaving home. The age at which a child receives the Sacrament of Confirmation was changed primarily to bring youth at this critical age into an encounter with Jesus, to choose His Church, and to maturely discern to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
- Why was the Purpose program chosen for the Diocese of Saginaw’s Confirmation preparation?
-
The Purpose program from Life Teen was selected because it provides a youth ministry-type environment for students to encounter Jesus and the Holy Spirit while preparing for Confirmation.
Its evangelizing mission is designed around three key questions:
- Why believe in God?
- Why trust Jesus?
- Why be a part of the Church?
It balances catechetical teaching, fun, relational ministry, and opportunities to encounter Jesus. It is a program that, if done correctly, has proven to help build missionary disciples.
- Why must my child go through two full years of preparation for Confirmation?
-
The Sacrament of Confirmation is not to simply “check off” a box or “graduate” from faith formation. Rather, it is intended to help build lifelong disciples of Jesus and His Church. This requires both discernment and conversion, which takes time. The first year of Purpose invites students to make a personal decision to follow Jesus, embrace the Catholic Church, and pursue the Sacrament of Confirmation. The second year builds on that personal decision of faith and focuses more on the Sacrament itself. The whole process, in the words of Bishop Gruss, is "journeying with a young person to foster an encounter with Jesus Christ, leading to intentional discipleship."
- When will the new Confirmation program begin at my parish?
-
Starting in Fall 2024, the Purpose program from Lifeteen will become the definitive Confirmation preparation program throughout the Diocese. Catholic youth seeking the Sacrament of Confirmation must first actively participate in two years of Purpose at a parish. Although Purpose will become the Diocese-wide standard, individual parishes will decide when to begin offering Purpose. They may choose to start in the fall of 2024 or to wait based on a number of factors, such as waiting for more youth to become eligible. All parishes should launch Purpose by Fall 2025. Please contact your local parish to learn their planned start date.
If you have any other questions, contact Taylor Piotrzkowski, the Coordinator for Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the link or phone number on the contact card below or click HERE.