Confirmation Age Lowered

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Per the news clip below Confrmation is going to happen sooner in the Phoenix diocese—What age does Confirmation take place in other dioceses I wonder - is this going to be the norm?

"…Too many Catholic teens are slipping into adulthood without undergoing the central sacrament of confirmation, a formal acceptance into the church, complete with a special anointing of the Holy Spirit.

It is one of the seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church and, with baptism and Holy Eucharist, is part of the bedrock Sacraments of Initiation for the faithful.

With data showing as many as 60 percent of teens not being confirmed, the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has announced it is lowering the age for confirmation, now typically 16, to third grade (ages 8 and 9) in a gradual process that will take three years to implement.

“We have thousands of adults attempting to face the challenges of the modern world without the grace of confirmation to help them,” states the newly released policy, Gift From on High. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted recently introduced the changes to parishes through a video produced by the diocese…"

“For 100 years, we had baptism, then first Eucharist and then confirmation,” said John Meyer, director of catechetical ministry. This diocese had made age 16 the standard age for confirmation. But by that age, parishes find that many Catholic teens are not interested or are no longer actively engaged in parish life.

“We are preparing to restore the ancient order of the sacrament within the diocese,” Olmsted says in the video, noting that the changes came about after consulting with a task force created to study the appropriate age for confirmation and his 16-pastor Presbyteral Council. Under the changes, children who have been baptized and who reach the age of discretion (7) will be invited to prepare for the sacrament of reconciliation in second grade and prepare for and celebrate the sacrament of confirmation and Eucharist in the same ceremony in the third grade.

Children in Catholic homes who were never baptized but are at least 7 years old may prepare to celebrate all three sacraments in one ceremony.

Confirmation, Olmsted said, allows the Holy Spirit “to root us more deeply as sons and daughters of the Father and prepares us to receive Jesus’ body and blood. Conferring the sacrament of confirmation on younger children means that they will possess these gifts at an earlier age…”

eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=44018
 
I dunno… I’d support more Seven-Eight Grade say 12-14 Year old for it… 8-9 just seems too young… Though, if it will help it can’t be bad… Guess we’ll see… 👍
 
any time is okay. the eastern rites do it at baptism! I say though 16 or 10th grade whichever is first is about the right age for a latin rite american catholic.
 
In Australia, we have first communion and confirmation together at age 10.
 
Theologically, this makes sense as Confirmation is the completion of Baptism, not any indication of one’s arrival to adult Christianhood. But dioceses that have lowered the age like this have found that even fewer kids continue with CCD into their teen years because they don’t have the carrot of Confirmation. So catechesis may suffer even more.
 
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Confiteor:
Theologically, this makes sense as Confirmation is the completion of Baptism, not any indication of one’s arrival to adult Christianhood. But dioceses that have lowered the age like this have found that even fewer kids continue with CCD into their teen years because they don’t have the carrot of Confirmation. So catechesis may suffer even more.
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The major focus however is not towards the children/teens.
The major focus of Catechesis is towards adults and parents specifically. It is then the parents who should be passing on the faith to their children/teens.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
The major focus however is not towards the children/teens.
The major focus of Catechesis is towards adults and parents specifically. It is then the parents who should be passing on the faith to their children/teens.
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I’m not sure what you mean. That there should be catechesis for adults? I know one of the bishops’ documents a while back emphasized resources should be devoted to that. In my parish, adult education isn’t very well attended to. What is offered is not very attentive to the teaching of the Magisterium/Catechism. A tiny fraction of parents attend. And because most of the parents fall in the demographic of poorly catechized, they are not in a position to educate their children in the faith. Many just drop their children off at CCD and do not attend Mass on Sunday or Days of Obligation. Some of it is attributable to apathy, and some of it is due to lives crowded with other stuff.
 
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Confiteor:
I’m not sure what you mean. That there should be catechesis for adults? I know one of the bishops’ documents a while back emphasized resources should be devoted to that. In my parish, adult education isn’t very well attended to. What is offered is not very attentive to the teaching of the Magisterium/Catechism. A tiny fraction of parents attend. And because most of the parents fall in the demographic of poorly catechized, they are not in a position to educate their children in the faith. Many just drop their children off at CCD and do not attend Mass on Sunday or Days of Obligation. Some of it is attributable to apathy, and some of it is due to lives crowded with other stuff.
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I agree with Bro. Rich on this … We must do a much better job of catechizing our adults!

My personal theory is that sometime after Vatican II the catechesis of children fell short. The Baltimore Catchism was taken away and, for a period, catechesis floundered. Those children are now the parents of today … for the most part desperately needing adult based formation. Just my humble opinion. :getholy:
 
Lower it!! In the diocese I live in now, it is age 16. I got confirmed in the 7th grade.
I got to hang out while everyone else in my high school had to go through all that confirmation stuff.
Well, I did, but years earlier!
 
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malcolm_davies:
In Australia, we have first communion and confirmation together at age 10.
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I received Communion and Confirmation on the same day … at age 9 (4th grade). This was in the Archdiocese of Chicago–some years ago 😉
 
Way back when, pre VII, I was confirmed in 6th grade at age 11.
 
Years ago, when the dioceese I belonged to and was in various Religious Education and youth ministry programs, our Bishop moved the age of Confirmation from 12/ 13 years to sophomore/Junior years of high school. It was my opinion then as it remains now, this is not a good idea. Adding to this thread, in our common practice of the Latin right, I believe lowering the age is not any better. I want to focus however on the older end of the specter.

From the Catechism, it says that a candidate must be prepared to assume the role of disciple and witness to Christ both in the ecclesical and temporal world. (I believe this understanding is the root of the expression and thought that Confirmation is the Sacrament of Maturity.) Now I admit with God all things are possible and I’m not denying the strenghts gained in the Sacramental Graces received in Confirmation. I do, never the less, believe Grace does build upon nature and while the Grace will always remain present, normally, it takes time and maturity for an individual to open himself up to its reality and its effects. Again, there certainly many teens (and some younger) who are open to the Graces of this Sacrament, however, in my opinion they are the exception and not the rule.

Consider the age we are talking about? The teen age years of adolescence. During this time, it is a natural step in a person’s development to question and often reject the values and moral principles of their parents. More often than not this is not a total rejection but part of the human process of making values and morals and even religion their own. Study after study has shown the the religious activity of the normal Amaerican is at its lowest ebb between 16 and 25 years yet this is the same age Dioceese and Parishes are moving there Confirmation Programs into and wonder why so few are coming. For those who want to lower the age of reception remember, those children haven’t even begun their adolescence (or are just starting to).

So given the the above (and remember I didn’t even approach the effects of the home on the Child’s religious development) I really don’t know how a parent nor a Pastor can honestly answer the question from the Bishop on whether or not the candidates are ready to receive the Sacrament, with its implied question, are these candidates ready to become disciples and witness of Christ in this world through their everday lives?"
 
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Confiteor:
I’m not sure what you mean. That there should be catechesis for adults? I know one of the bishops’ documents a while back emphasized resources should be devoted to that. In my parish, adult education isn’t very well attended to. What is offered is not very attentive to the teaching of the Magisterium/Catechism. A tiny fraction of parents attend. And because most of the parents fall in the demographic of poorly catechized, they are not in a position to educate their children in the faith. Many just drop their children off at CCD and do not attend Mass on Sunday or Days of Obligation. Some of it is attributable to apathy, and some of it is due to lives crowded with other stuff.
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Out of all the resources in a parish for catechesis. 80% should go to adult programs. I know of some parishes that totally eliminated the childrens “CCD” program and others that required parents to attend an adult session while the children were in class. If the adults didn’t attend the children could not stay, no dropping the kids off and coming back later.
 
My eldest daughter, who is now 12, was confirmed at 7 when she did her first communion. Since then the age has gone up and my daughter, who is now 10, was confirmed when she was only just 9 years old. The standard age for the diocese now sits at 9.

It isn’t really a big change, it is just a change back to an older practice of confirming before the first communion takes place, when the child is a full member of the church.
 
The Archdiocese of Seattle has set the Confirmation age at 16 (Jr. Year in HS).
 
we’ve discussed this at great length on several other threads, so I say again, the purpose of CCD is to prepare children for reception of the sacraments of initiation, and to provide ongoing mystagogia (faith formation and education) after initiation. The purpose of the sacraments is not to provide a “reward” for attending CCD. As I have stated before, personally I believe the sacraments of initiation should be just that, and conferred at the same time, whether in infancy, childhood, youth or adulthood. At the very least the original order of the sacraments should be restored for all. It makes no sense to delay confirmation, which is preparation for Eucharist, several years after the first reception of the Eucharist.
 
This is a very intriguing thread as are the other related threads stored in the bowels of the new Catholic Answers Forum server. The Archdiocese of the Military requires children to be in the 8th grade or higher to receive Confirmation. At our Parish Confirmation for children from Catholic families occurs every other year, and a Bishop ministers the Sacrament.

The article from the diocese of Phoenix was an interesting read. I do not agree with the rational for moving the age from the Catholics’ teen years to the third grade. I do applaud the concept of family Confirmation however.

If I follow the logic, kids are not receiving Confirmation because the Church is not offering the Sacrament at an early enough age. I do not make the connection. The problem is not what age the Church offers the Sacrament but how the person is raised. The problem with Catholic kids not receiving Confirmation lies in their family life. I guess the Church is failing the families of the 60%. Those families are failing their kids.

When my wife and I baptized our children we promised to raise them Catholic. We had God parents to offer us support and commit to help with the kids upbringing. I believe in Sacramental Grace offered by the Catholic Church so I need to follow through and act on my belief. I know my kids and they are maturing in their faith, but I would not call them mature yet. My wife and I are raising them to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit. Hopefully as adults they will be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and use them according to The Father’s Will. The responsibility for their salvation is at my feet. I can either accept it or be derelict. Catholic kids have Hope. Pray for them and raise them well. The Church will be there to initiate them as Catholic, to hear their confessions and offer them forgiveness, to marry them, to ordain them, to anoint them when sick as well as to teach them the bear witness to Jesus Christ our Lord and teach the Truth.

Why do so many kids choose not to receive Confirmation? I think our families do not believe in Sacramental Grace, plain and simple. The real question is why.

Christ’s Peace,

TJD
 
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TJD:
Why do so many kids choose not to receive Confirmation? I think our families do not believe in Sacramental Grace, plain and simple. The real question is why.
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If I were a kid who didn’t choose to receive confirmation, I’d say it was either I didn’t want to go to a zillion boring classes or because I didn’t believe all that stuff, or at least, I didn’t believe it all. The real reason would have been knowing I didn’t believe.

However, I was a kid (a Methodist) who wanted to be confirmed (as a Methodist) and was denied (by a parent). I was willing (enough) to go to the classes and I did believe. Something seemed unfinished to me, like I wasn’t commited to Jesus, like I was only half-baked, I don’t know what exactly my kid-brain was thinking. The journey was not complete, I guess, and it was a journey I was determined to make.

Yeah, I ended up getting confirmed Catholic when I was out of the house.
 
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puzzleannie:
we’ve discussed this at great length on several other threads, so I say again, the purpose of CCD is to prepare children for reception of the sacraments of initiation, and to provide ongoing mystagogia (faith formation and education) after initiation. The purpose of the sacraments is not to provide a “reward” for attending CCD. As I have stated before, personally I believe the sacraments of initiation should be just that, and conferred at the same time, whether in infancy, childhood, youth or adulthood. At the very least the original order of the sacraments should be restored for all. It makes no sense to delay confirmation, which is preparation for Eucharist, several years after the first reception of the Eucharist.
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👍 You are right on target! :clapping:
 
I got confirmed when I was in 8th grade (14 yrs old) in the diocese of Greensburg, PA. I heard that they have since dropped the confirmation age down to 8 (2nd grade). I helped teach a confirmation class in the diocese of Lafayette (Indiana), where the kids were jrs in highschool. Their program was, in my opinion, very good with respect to teaching them all about the sacrament, the bible and the moral law among other topics.

I think the age for confirmation question is a difficult question. On one hand, there is the argument that earlier is better since the sacrament will provide young children more grace to help them lead moral lives – especially since a number of kids may miss out on the sacrament when they get older, according to the Arizona article originally posted.

On the other hand, confirmation is the sacrament the apostles conveyed to others in the bible through the “laying on of the hands” (passing on the original Pentecost experience). In this case, it appears that the sacrament is geared towards someone who is at the age of reason and will have a better understanding of what being a Christian is all about. I think this is analogous to what the Baptists believe regarding their baptism ritual (sans the water).

Between the 2 arguments, I believe it is better to have the children receive the sacrament when they are older vs. younger. I believe this primarily because we need to improve the catechism classes at the parish level. And by extending some of the sacraments out a little further than we currently do, I believe we could bring about future generations who are stronger in their faith than their parents. I believe that confirmation is a sacrament that is very powerful in helping people shape their conscences in order to better interpret the moral law and matters of faith/doctrine, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Although confirmation at a later date delays the graces from this sacrament being bestowed on young Catholics, the benefits of having these kids thoroughly catechised is well worth the wait. That’s my take at least.
 
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