Can't decide on a confirmation saint

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Johann_du_Toit

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I have been unable to decide on a saint for my confirmation into the Church next year. I have narrowed it down to the following:

St.Ignatius Loyola - I relate to him because, like me, he had a traumatic event in his life that forced him to take stock of his spiritual well being. Also his spiritual exercises are inspiring.

St Thomas More- I’m a lawyer and he is the patron saint of lawyers. Died for his faith and principles. Not sure I will be able to live up to that in my profession though.

St John Bosco-he did commendable charitable work and is a good example of christian compassion to the poor and to children.

St Benedict-for his intercession to protect us from sin and evil

I also considered St. Michael, but I am unsure if I’m allowed to adopt an Archangel as my confirmation saint.

Any opinions? Are there any other saints I should consider? As far as I know, I don’t think South Africa has any canonized saints yet that I can adopt.
 
Pax Christi!

No reason to not choose St. Michael. And as far as protection from evil, that’s his job!

God bless.
 
I don’t have experience with Confirmation of adults, but I have worked with one son, and have another one being Confirmed this spring. My first suggestion to them was to go through the litany of the saints and note any whose names stand out to them. Then I charged them with the task of learning about all of those saints, to help them ‘narrow the field’. Mary Fabian Windeatt writes short novels for middle school + kids (usually about 100 pages or so) which are a great way to get a decent introduction to a saint and their life, even for educated adults!
I also encouraged them to find a website that tells a bit about the saint of the day, such as: catholic.org/saints/f_day/nov.php
to help them learn a little about a variety of saints that they might not otherwise be exposed to.
Those are my thoughts about how to determine additional possibilities for your ‘Confimation Name’ saint.
BUT since it seems that you have narrowed the field to 5 amazing saints…my suggestion is to spend a week or so delving into each saint’s life (reading biographies, watching DVD’s etc. ) and asking for their intercession during your prayer time. Contemplate their life and how you would like yours to mirror theirs and how they might support you from Heaven. Hopefully between what you learn and what you feel, one of the saints will inspire you above all of the others and something will just ‘feel right’ and you will ‘know’

Since you still have time to decide on your Confirmation namesake…pray and ask the Holy Spirit for the strength and wisdom to choose the saint who will inspire you the most…but Ignatius Thomas John Benedict Michael is a bit too long for a confirmation name ;):eek:😃

Do you have a Confirmation sponsor yet? Maybe they could give you some direction and/or pray for you to receive some inspiration/guidance?

Just some thoughts…
 
I don’t know about any South African Saints yet, but there was a lady from Africa (the northern area, I think), who was a slave, taken to Italy, took refuge in a Church, eventually entered a Convent and was canonized a while back. I saw her biography on EWTN, and found it very inspiring. She went through a literal hell in her young life, but ended a very saintly nun, and was loved by people in Italy (maybe it was Spain, but I think Italy is correct). Maybe someone on here can remember her name? Since your name is similar to “John” perhaps you might want a saint whose name was “John”? Since Blessed John Paul II will be declared a Saint next Spring, and worked hard to bring Africans more into the Church at all levels, perhaps you’d like to use him as your Confirmation Patron???🙂
 
Well, if this is just about opinion, I’d go with Sir Thomas More, because I think he’s really awesome.

This is ultimately your decision. The fact that the person has been canonized means that you can choose anybody you feel like with the certitude that it’s a good choice.
 
judynurse said:
I don’t know about any South African Saints yet, but there was a lady from Africa (the northern area, I think), who was a slave, taken to Italy, took refuge in a Church, eventually entered a Convent and was canonized a while back. I saw her biography on EWTN, and found it very inspiring. She went through a literal hell in her young life, but ended a very saintly nun, and was loved by people in Italy (maybe it was Spain, but I think Italy is correct). Maybe someone on here can remember her name? Since your name is similar to “John” perhaps you might want a saint whose name was “John”? Since Blessed John Paul II will be declared a Saint next Spring, and worked hard to bring Africans more into the Church at all levels, perhaps you’d like to use him as your Confirmation Patron???🙂
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St. Josephine Bakhita

catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=5601

The movie of her life can be found on YouTube, but it’s in Italian with Spanish subtitles. Good for the polyglots in the group.
 
I vote for St. Michael the Archangel because in every part of the world, in every profession, we need his spiritual protection, now more than ever. He and Gabriel and Raphael do some mighty powerful protecting.
 
A couple of thoughts, based on your own ideas:
Johann_du_Toit said:
St Thomas More- I’m a lawyer and he is the patron saint of lawyers. Died for his faith and principles. Not sure I will be able to live up to that in my profession though.
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I’ve always had a huge admiration for St Thomas More. Very appropriate as you are also a lawyer, also, one of the things we most need in South Africa is people who will stand up for their faith and principles, I hope not too many will be called to die for them.
I also considered St. Michael, but I am unsure if I’m allowed to adopt an Archangel as my confirmation saint.
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St Michael the Archangel would be an awesome saint for a South African. (As an aside, the church I belong to here is St Michael the Archangel - so I’m somewhat biased?)
Any opinions? Are there any other saints I should consider? As far as I know, I don’t think South Africa has any canonized saints yet that I can adopt.
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Not yet, but according to this Benedict Daswa from Tzaneen has had his name put forward for sainthood, so taking Benedict could be for this
St Benedict-for his intercession to protect us from sin and evil
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again, very appropriate for a South African today, and perhaps one day South Africa will have its own Saint Benedict.

Another option is to see which saints have their day on your birthday, and take that saint’s name as your confirmation name. That is what the priest here did for my confirmation name.
 
My birthday is 28 December-the commemoration of the holy innocents (the infants murdered by Herod in his attempt to kill the Christ child)…

Other Saints commemorated on this day are:

St. Anthony the Hermit
St. Troadius
St. CaesariusSt. Castor
St. Domnio
St. Eutychius & Domitian
St. Romulus and Conindrus

Anyone know something about any of these saints?
 
Why not pray for guidance to the saints you have chosen, all are great ones. Pick a saint you feel comfortable praying to, not just one whose life inspires you. Your confirmation patron saint should become a close friend and helper in your life.
 
I came into the church last May, and chose St Ignatius of Antioch, not only because of his courage in facing his martyrdom, but because his 7 letters were instrumental in my conversion.

I only wish I could find some medals etc with his image…
 
I’m biased towards Michael. I’ve got a Grandfather, cousins, a brother and also son are Michaels. They are all fellas that have a strength and firey passion for justice, so whether that is the doing of St Michael the archangel in their lives I like to assume!
 
Johann_du_Toit said:
I have been unable to decide on a saint for my confirmation into the Church next year. I have narrowed it down to the following:

St.Ignatius Loyola - I relate to him because, like me, he had a traumatic event in his life that forced him to take stock of his spiritual well being. Also his spiritual exercises are inspiring.

St Thomas More- I’m a lawyer and he is the patron saint of lawyers. Died for his faith and principles. Not sure I will be able to live up to that in my profession though.

St John Bosco-he did commendable charitable work and is a good example of christian compassion to the poor and to children.

St Benedict-for his intercession to protect us from sin and evil

I also considered St. Michael, but I am unsure if I’m allowed to adopt an Archangel as my confirmation saint.

Any opinions? Are there any other saints I should consider? As far as I know, I don’t think South Africa has any canonized saints yet that I can adopt.
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St. Michael!!! You are most definitely allowed to adopt an Archangel as your confirmation saint.

And a couple prayers for your spiritual journey as you convert:

Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St Michael the Archangel defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
 
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