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Wkane
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Hello, everyone. I am in RCIA. We have been told to choose a Confirmation name. What was your experience in doing so? Thanks.
I found it very interesting to seek out who my Patron Saint is, and to research her life. My Confirmation name is Teresa, after St. Teresa of Avila. I discovered that she was “following me around” throughout my whole RCIA journey - I was always running into quotes from her in my reading, and people kept giving me her books to read.Hello, everyone. I am in RCIA. We have been told to choose a Confirmation name. What was your experience in doing so? Thanks.
That true, but its also not a country by country thing either. When I was received through RCIA (in the US) not only were we not asked for a confirmation name, but encouraged to keep our baptismal name. We all choose patron saints, but did not us that saint’s name when we were confirmed. Last year I was a sponsor at a different parish in the same diocese and each person in RCIA was confirmed with the name of a patron saint. These two parishes are only 10-15 miles apart.It appears that the Church in some countries do not have the person being Confirmed “pick” a “Confirmation name”!![]()
This is correct. Even in the US, it depends on the parish and/or diocese whether the children are asked to pick Confirmation names. Where I grew up, in the Diocese of Saginaw, I was not asked to choose a Confirmation name. However, I did choose St. John Bosco several years later as my special patron.It appears that the Church in some countries do not have the person being Confirmed “pick” a “Confirmation name”!![]()
Against my mother’s wishes, at age 14, I chose St. Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness, because I thought her name was pretty, no matter her ‘story’. She preferred Sts. Cecelia, Anne, Teresa (Avila or Liseaux) and a few others.I was in third grade at confirmation, and asked about a patron saint for artists. My mother chose St. Cecilia for me, who is a patron for musicians, as close as she could find to artists.
Co-incidence or God-incidence? I am now a music minister in my parish! Thanks, St. Cecilia!
In other words, the “confirmation name” is your Patron Saint. I see. Then, at the age of about seven, I had my Patron Saint – Little Flower (nothing to do with my Confirmation). I am named after one of the many names of Our Blessed Mother – although not well known in the U.S.A.This is correct. Even in the US, it depends on the parish and/or diocese whether the children are asked to pick Confirmation names. Where I grew up, in the Diocese of Saginaw, I was not asked to choose a Confirmation name. However, I did choose St. John Bosco several years later as my special patron.
There are several reasons why a diocese and/or parish may not require Confirmation names. First of all, children are already expected to have “Christian” names from their Baptisms. As such, choosing a Confirmation name is sometimes considered superfluous. Another reason why some dioceses don’t require Confirmation names is due to the ages required for Confirmation in certain dioceses. In most dioceses in the US, children are Confirmed as teenagers (though I’ve seen Confirmation done here as early as 2nd grade, alongside First Eucharist). In some countries, however, babies are Confirmed shortly after being Baptized (this, actually, was apparently even tradition here in the Southwest until around Vatican II). As such, choosing separate names for Confirmation for babies in this situation would be pointless.
A ‘patron saint’, in my understanding, is a saint that supports specific ‘causes’ or patronages. Your chosen Confirmation saint may or may not be a patron of a cause close to you. I didn’t choose Dymphna because of her patronage; I chose her despite it, not knowing that years later it would prove to be otherwise. It is true that many people do choose Confirmation Saints because of their patronage, but it isn’t required. While your Confirmation Saint may have a patronage, that doesn’t mean it has to be your patronage, although it often is.In other words, the “confirmation name” is your Patron Saint. I see. Then, at the age of about seven, I had my Patron Saint – Little Flower (nothing to do with my Confirmation). I am named after one of the many names of Our Blessed Mother – although not well known in the U.S.A.
I can also see having a second chance at having a Christian name because the names given to babies at Baptism are many times made up.
Thanks!![]()
My Confirmation name way back when was my middle name, Matthew.Hello, everyone. I am in RCIA. We have been told to choose a Confirmation name. What was your experience in doing so? Thanks.