Age at Confirmation

[davidosb]

This still seems to be a major debate, at least in the dioceses of the PNW. I am wondering if there’s any data or research that’s been done on this topic, specifically: do those Catholics who have been confirmed younger (say age 10-12) end up practicing their faith with any more regularity or devotion than those confirmed relatively older (high school age or beyond)? Links to any figures would be awesome. Barring that, opinions/discussions/personal experiences would still be interesting. Thanks!

 

[JimR-OCDS]

This still seems to be a major debate, at least in the dioceses of the PNW. I am wondering if there’s any data or research that’s been done on this topic, specifically: do those Catholics who have been confirmed younger (say age 10-12) end up practicing their faith with any more regularity or devotion than those confirmed relatively older (high school age or beyond)? Links to any figures would be awesome. Barring that, opinions/discussions/personal experiences would still be interesting. Thanks!

My nephew was Baptised and Confirmed at age 7. I don’t think he’s been inside of a Catholic church since.

My daughter didn’t receive Confirmation until she was 21. She didn’t want to back when he was in high-school. She is a devote Catholic.

It boils down to receiving the Sacraments without having faith.

Jim

 

[DAH]

I was confirmed in 3rd grade (many years ago) but our parish has the age set at 10th grade. My sons didn’t feel ready at that age and waited until they were 18 and 21. I know a lot of the teens getting confirmed only seem to be doing this because their parents want it. I see both view points. I see that parents are hoping that the Holy Spirit will move their children and if not it will be there waiting inside them when they’re ready. I also think that since confirmation is a sacrament that the recipient should be committed to receiving it and going forth to evangelize their faith. I didn’t push the issue with my sons and now they are both confirmed and devout Catholics. My youngest is now in the seminary starting down the road to priesthood.

I think the actual age of confirmation is up to the local bishops. Perhaps the size of the diocese determines the age?

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

This still seems to be a major debate, at least in the dioceses of the PNW. I am wondering if there’s any data or research that’s been done on this topic, specifically: do those Catholics who have been confirmed younger (say age 10-12) end up practicing their faith with any more regularity or devotion than those confirmed relatively older (high school age or beyond)? Links to any figures would be awesome. Barring that, opinions/discussions/personal experiences would still be interesting. Thanks!

This doesn’t make sense for several reasons:

**1.) There is no definitive study to my mind- in fact, there has really been no study. **
2.) Eastern Catholics confirm (chrismation) infants. They are very much Catholic and loyal to the Pope, and those babies are very much confirmed (as they are also communicated). Some stick with it, some don’t, to varying degrees, same as Latin Rite Catholics.
3.) “Faith” on the part of the recipient is not a requirement for the sacraments of initiation, at least not personal, individual faith that “knows what’s what”. Otherwise, it would be logical that we would not baptize infants in the Household of Faith, but wait until they could “understand” and “say” they want to be baptized, such as Protestant denominations do. But as it is, we do baptize them, based on their parents’ faith. It is no different with confirmation/ chrismation.
4.) The original order of the sacraments of initiation was baptism/ confirmation/ eucharist- even for infants. Gradually, the Latin Church separated confirmation and eucharist, coming to the point of the turn of the century, when youths were confirmed then received First Holy Communion. In 1910 or so, Pope Pius X started the practice of children receiving First Communion “at the age of discretion”. Confirmation then came anywhere between 2nd grade and whenever the bishop got there for Latin Rite children. It was only in the very late 60s/ early 1970s that confirmation was deferred until the late teen years.
5.) No matter how old a person is, that person is not “confirming” their own faith. The young person might profess their faith, whether by requesting the sacrament or in renewal of the baptismal vows. But if you look in the CCC (Look esp. at Section V), you will find it is the bishop who confirms and completes the person’s baptism, and therefore imparts the Holy Spirit. It has really not much to do with how many service hours the candidate completed, or the candidate’s age (except that a person over the age of reason is required to ask for the sacrament themselves), whether the retreat has been made, or that formal religious education classes are ending for that age group. In fact, if a person is in danger of death, no matter the age, a priest is allowed to confirm that person.

 

[BlestOne]

My sister and her entire family haven’t been to mass since their youngest got confirmed… I don’t know why parents think their “duty” is over after confirmation…or the kids either at that! My 15 yo just got confirmed and to be honest I think it is a good age… the reason why is that if mom and dad won’t take them to mass… they can either find a friend that is going (using that device permanently attached to their ear) or drive themselves at 16.

 

[Corki]

Puzzleannie has done a lot of research on this topic, including restoring the traditional order of the Sacraments. (Confirmation before First Communion). I hope she chimes in here.

I personally do not see that the age of Confirmation has much to do with children staying or leaving the practice of their faith. I think if you measure children who avail themselves regularly of the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion regularly or not, you would find correlations with continued practicing of the faith.

The Bishop of Tyler, TX wrote a great letter about moving Confirmation to a younger age. If you haven’t read it yet, it is quite educational. dioceseoftyler.org/documents/Confirmation_document_2.pdf

 

[otjm]

The sad part of Confirmation is that all too many Cahtolics take that sacrament as a sign that they now have the fullness of the faith, as in, they have no more to learn, no more to research, no more to grow. And that is too true of Catholics in the pew as it is of those who quit going to Mass.

and that is nothing new, meaning it is not a result of vatican 2, or the fall-out after Vatican 2; it was true before as well.

It is, and has been, at least in part, a failure of those doing the training of the individuals approaching Confirmation.

And in part, a failure of the parents…

 

[brotherhrolf]

The norm when I was a kid before V II was sixth grade or age 12. That changed in the 70s.

 

[davidosb]

Thank you all for your replies! I found Bishop Corrada’s letter encouraging, particularly articles 13, 16-17 and 33. As a former religious educator, I too would support a return to the older (and more theologically sound) order of the sacraments. However, I also think a sort of “coming-of-age” experience in the Church might be useful in strengthening the young adult’s sense of “Catholic Identity” in Christ. It wouldn’t be held at the same level as the other sacraments of course, but then again if we were to recombine Baptism and Confirmation we would have room for a new “seventh sacrament”. Thoughts on this?

I guess I was not surprised to hear that there’s no data on the correlations (or lack thereof) between Confirmation age and practice of the faith. Probably if there were, the numbers would show that later, post-Communion Confirmation is not only theologically unsound but also impractical and relatively ineffective, be it at age 10 or 18. I was confirmed at age 16, and was taught the “soldier of Christ” way of understanding the sacrament. I then watched as 75% of my fellow soldiers left the practice of their faith, perhaps never to return. Left a bad taste in my mouth, to be sure.

 

[H_Opey]

davidosb,
We are currently trying, asking, begging our bishop to allow our children to receive confirmation early. They want it. They are preparing.
We homeschool so the preparation is not like, in most cases, the parish setting although they SHOULD be covering the same things.
I was confirmed at 14. My husband at 12. Neither of us left the Church but we have just now started to take our faith seriously.
Out of the 8 that were confirmed with me, I know for sure that 3, including me, are active Catholics.
We have no idea what trials await our children. We can only prepare them the best way we know how. I personally favor combining Confirmation and Baptism. That is just my personal feelings tho.

On the side, I know a lot of people in our parish get a kick out of seeing the kids dressed up (Christmas) and perform and other various occasion but I really think the kids get tired of being…paraded. Just my opinion.

 

[Timidity]

Canon Law states that confirmation should occur around the age of 7. One would imagine that should settle the question, but it doesn’t.

 

[jrabs]

Canon Law states that confirmation should occur around the age of 7. One would imagine that should settle the question, but it doesn’t.

Thanks for the info.
My diocese has reverted to this guideline so that is the age my children were confirmed.

 

[puzzleannie]

Puzzleannie has done a lot of research on this topic, including restoring the traditional order of the Sacraments. (Confirmation before First Communion). I hope she chimes in here.

I _2.pdf

It has all been said before, most recently on a current thread on the topic. Bishop Chaput of Denver, bishop of Tyler Tx, Bishop Tobin have all given good teachings on this topic.

just to point out that the beginning of Acts tells us that Jesus promised the apostles, just before his ascension into heaven, that he would send the Holy Spirit upon them. He instructed them to wait, but promised “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”. He did not say when or how long they were to wait, but he did tell them this would be their long awaited “baptism of the Holy Spirit” that he promised at the time John was baptizing in the Jordan. So clearly, at least for his disciples, Jesus deemed it necessary that there be a period of elapsed time between their baptism and their confirmation. He also deemed it necessary that they wait, prayerfully, for the coming of the Holy Spirit, wait for God’s timing, and that they themselves were not the ones who decided when they were “ready”.

Peter newly empowered at Pentecost instructed and exhorted the crowds, baptized thousands and confirmed them. As the bishops of the new church, the apostles instructed converts and decided when, how and where they were to baptized, confirmed and admitted to the Eucharist.

The bishops as successors of the apostles still speak for them and the power to confirm and to establish the time and conditions for the sacrament rest with them alone. Even in apostolic times, as Acts and the Epistles make clear, different practices developed in the various local churches as the new bishops adapted to the pastoral needs of their congregations. so it is today, the bishop decides what is best for those in his diocese.

 

[Morning_Star15]

Canon Law states that confirmation should occur around the age of 7. One would imagine that should settle the question, but it doesn’t.

Wow, that’s a surprise. If the current Canon Law says this, then why the variatons? The norm where I live is grade 8 (13 or 14 years old), but I’ve heard of other countries where it’s 18, and I even have a friend who was confirmed at 21, because that’s the age for confirmation where she comes from.

I personally would have preferred to be confirmed around age 18 - I was confirmed at 13 and I think I was too young to really understand (in my heart at least) this Sacrament and take it seriously (either that or I didn’t receive proper instruction on the Sacrament). Especially with the aspect of confirming your Baptismal vows, I think it’s necessary for a person to have matured in their Faith in order to really understand (once again in their hearts, not just their minds) what those vows mean and be fully resolved to live them out. While I know there are exceptions, I don’t think the majority of 7-year-olds or even 13-year-olds are ready for this. I know that 7 is the age of Reason, but especially in the secular culture that we live in, I think it takes longer for most people to mature in their Faith.

Many of my friends who were confirmed with me at age 13 fell away from the Church afterwards, because they weren’t sincere in their desire to be confirmed, but were only doing it to satisfy their parents (that was sort of the case for me as well) and after their parents were satisfied, they stopped going to church. I think if they had been confirmed at a later age, they might have stuck around longer, especially if their parents maintained their expectation of them getting confirmed, and in that time grown in their Faith. But then again, maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

God bless,

Karolina <><

 

[puzzleannie]

Canon Law states that confirmation should occur around the age of 7. One would imagine that should settle the question, but it doesn’t.

what canon law actually says is that confirmation for Catholic youth baptized as infants in the west is any time between 7 and 18, with the bishop’s conference of each company to establishe the age range. the particular law of each diocese stipulates the age for that diocese.

 

[davidosb]

Again, thanks all for the replies. I don’t have a codex in front of me, but even if it says that Confirmation should be done at the age of reason, the American Church at least knows the difference between “should” and “must”. It always seems like we’re testing our boundaries over here. However there are times when that sort of thing is called for (Peter baptized a Gentile?? Lord have mercy! What will he think of next??)

At any rate, there seems to be an emphasis on “readiness” for this sacrament, and I can’t seem to find a theologically sound basis for that emphasis. It feels more like a right-to-choose issue than one of accepting the sacramental reality of Confirmation. Is it better for a child to wait until he is mature to receive the sacrament? If that’s the case, females should receive it between age 16-18, and males around age 40. Seriously though, isn’t it more efficacious to receive the sacrament and the gifts it bestows, and then mature as a Catholic with the fullness of the Spirit as a guide to that maturity? In this chicken-or-the-egg argument, I think it’s better to have the sacrament and then grow in understanding/wisdom/etc., than to attempt to reach some ethereal level of enlightenment in the hopes that the Spirit will somehow “stick” better.

 

[H_Opey]

The Canon Law states
Can. 889 §1 Every baptised person who is not confirmed, and only such a person, is capable of receiving confirmation.

§2 Apart from the danger of death, to receive confirmation lawfully a person who has the use of reason must be suitably instructed, properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises.

Can. 890 The faithful are bound to receive this sacrament at the proper time. Parents and pastors of souls, especially parish priests, are to see that the faithful are properly instructed to receive the sacrament and come to it at the opportune time.

**Can. 891 The sacrament of confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion, unless the Episcopal Conference has decided on a different age, or there is a danger of death or, in the judgement of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise. **

So, with that authority did the Bishops say Confirmation in the US is to take place between 7-18 and that each Bishop can decide what is best for his diocese.

 

[Spirithound]

…if we were to recombine Baptism and Confirmation we would have room for a new “seventh sacrament”. Thoughts on this?

There would not be “room” for a new seventh sacrament because we would still have seven sacraments.

looks around brightly…any proposals for an eighth sacrament?

 

[Morning_Star15]

There would not be “room” for a new seventh sacrament because we would still have seven sacraments.

looks around brightly…any proposals for an eighth sacrament?

Becoming a Religious Brother or Sister! Since both marriage and Holy Orders are Sacraments, I think professing perpetual vows in a religious community (or consecrating oneself to a chaste single life) should be one as well.

But anyway, back on topic we go…

 

[Rolltide]

The rough draft of the upcoming Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, which may be used to help reform the NO Mass, among other things, has the following as one of it’s propositions. It’s scheduled to be released any day now:

**
Catechesis and Mystagogy

Proposition 13

The Sequence of Sacraments of Christian Initiation**

The close connection between Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist is not sufficiently perceived. It is opportune, therefore, to explain that we are baptized and confirmed in function of the Eucharist. A better insertion must therefore be favored of the relationship between the three sacraments of Christian initiation in the celebration of each of these sacraments, regardless of the chronological order or the age of the celebration of Confirmation and First Communion. In this connection, an in-depth theological and pastoral study of Confirmation might be very valuable. All this, moreover, would have a positive value in ecumenical dialogue.

There could be renewed reflection on the appropriate age for Confirmation. Thought should also be given if in the Latin Church the sequence of Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion must be observed only for adults and not for children. The Latin tradition, which is differentiated from the Eastern tradition by the separation of the celebration of Confirmation from that of Baptism, has a raison d’être and a weight. On the other hand, the differences between the two traditions are not of a dogmatic nature. Both traditions, in fact, give a different practical answer to the identical situation of a great number of baptisms of children.