Confirmation name

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ifiddles

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I was born and raised Catholic to a degree…underwent baptism and first communion, but for a variety of reasons was never confirmed…I “came back” to my faith in 2001 and will be receiving the sacrament of confirmation at this year’s Easter vigil…I am not part of an RCIA program, only because I am a Catholic school teacher, and my priest felt there was no reason for me to attend because I am very familiar with church teachings etc…not to mention I don’t live in the city where I am being confirmed, and as such, cannot attend the weekly meetings (getting this done at my fiancé’s parish which we attend together on a weekly basis)…

anyways, I am having a hard time deciding on a confirmation name…I already have three names not including my maiden surname…do adults in the RCIA program actually pick a confirmation name (I know when I prepared my grade 7’s last year, they did) and if so, how can I go about picking one?..there are so many saints out there, that it’s all overwhelming…

I will be attending the final few meetings so perhaps I could get more assistance there, but thought I’d throw this out there and see what everyone else could offer…
 
Yes, RCIA people do pick a Saint that resonates with them.
It’s not a legal name, it’s only for you in your spiritual life.
Think of a Saint whose story inspires you…there are many to choose from as you have said. You can google any profession and find the patron/patroness. You say you teach in a Catholic School: consider Katherine Drexel, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neumann, so many great educators. Indeed, John Paul II.
Congratulations on your Confirmation and your upcoming marriage!
 
pianistclare said:
Yes, RCIA people do pick a Saint that resonates with them.
It’s not a legal name, it’s only for you in your spiritual life.
Think of a Saint whose story inspires you…there are many to choose from as you have said. You can google any profession and find the patron/patroness. You say you teach in a Catholic School: consider Katherine Drexel, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. John Neumann, so many great educators. Indeed, John Paul II.
Congratulations on your Confirmation and your upcoming marriage!
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This. Also, you can “re-use” one of your baptismal names for your confirmation name, but I didn’t. Adding a new patron saint was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss 👍
 
Yes, you *can *choose a Confirmation name.

But you don’t have to.
 
sweetpetunia said:
This. Also, you can “re-use” one of your baptismal names for your confirmation name, but I didn’t. Adding a new patron saint was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss 👍
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I'm in the same boat as you. I don't feel as bad now, considering I started attending mass in 2006. 
 However on a side note, I need to convince the Bishop to let me use the name
War-Hammer for my confirmation name but so far the out look is bleak. 👍
 
Our priest asked us about this last week at our RCIA session, as we were completing the forms with our sponsor’s name etc. I have chosen Teresa - both for St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila.

I don’t have a middle name, so it’s quite nice for me, really!
 
as others have mentioned, adults in RCIA do pick confirmation names. My suggestion would be (if you want a name) to take a look at saints read up on them, their life and accomplishments. Pray about it as well. One (or a couple) may very well stand out for you based on your own life, personality, hobbies, etc. For example, I believe St. Catherine of Alexandria & St. Ursula are patron saints of teachers.

Here’s a decent list of saints to read through…
catholic.org/saints/

For me, I chose St. Sebastian as he is the patron saint of athletes particularly endurance athletes. I am a long distance runner & cyclist so that was one aspect. But the key events that made him a saint in his martyrdom was what stood out to me. He seemed very stubborn! My wife agreed 🙂

Congrats on receiving Confirmation and on your upcoming marriage! 👍
 
What about someone who is Orthodox joining the Catholic Church? It seems as if this step was already taken and wouldn’t need to be repeated, or could it be done again?
 
Pick a saint and ask her to pray for you in the days prior to your confirmation and turn to her for intercessory prayer for the rest of your life. I am still someone who believes you should choose a saint of your same gender. I have noticed that now you are free to choose either. I don’t know when or how it was changed. I was proud and considered it a blessing to have a special saint to honor. But I agree with the above poster who said to read about the lives of each saint and pick the one who would most inspire you to live a holy life. Many cultures have several names for their newborns, not all of the names are used in daily matters. The confirmation name can be a way for more graces.
 
Convert2013 said:
as others have mentioned, adults in RCIA do pick confirmation names. My suggestion would be (if you want a name) to take a look at saints read up on them, their life and accomplishments. Pray about it as well. One (or a couple) may very well stand out for you based on your own life, personality, hobbies, etc. For example, I believe St. Catherine of Alexandria & St. Ursula are patron saints of teachers.

Here’s a decent list of saints to read through…
catholic.org/saints/

For me, I chose St. Sebastian as he is the patron saint of athletes particularly endurance athletes. I am a long distance runner & cyclist so that was one aspect. But the key events that made him a saint in his martyrdom was what stood out to me. He seemed very stubborn! My wife agreed 🙂

Congrats on receiving Confirmation and on your upcoming marriage! 👍
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Catherine of Alexandria is also the patroness of fireworks and race car drivers.
Feisty little saint. 😛
 
Hey I’m so glad to hear that you’re coming back to the Faith!!! Its always a good idea to pick a patron saint when you are Confirmed so that you have another person in Heaven praying for you in a special way. You will also have a special saint that you can turn to when you need help. You can pick a saint that has the same qualities as you, or you can pick a saint who has qualities you want to work on developing.

Check out this website:
saints.sqpn.com/

On the right, under “groups and lists”, you can search for saints based on what/who they are patrons of.

God Bless!!
 
thanks everyone for your suggestions…I went to mass yesterday and we have a library in the parish…picked up two books on saints and chose St. Elizabeth Bichier Des Anges…she devoted her life to education of children and care of the sick and aged…both very applicable to me as I teach grade 2 and have an elderly mother (90) whom I care for…the blurb said she reflected Jesus’ message of generosity of mind, body and spirit…I asked my fiancé and he says I am very generous (not trying to be vain here)…there were a few others I liked, but I really felt drawn to her…another cool thing is, Elizabeth is my fiancé’s grandmother’s name…God bless!
 
ifiddles said:
thanks everyone for your suggestions…I went to mass yesterday and we have a library in the parish…picked up two books on saints and chose St. Elizabeth Bichier Des Anges…she devoted her life to education of children and care of the sick and aged…both very applicable to me as I teach grade 2 and have an elderly mother (90) whom I care for…the blurb said she reflected Jesus’ message of generosity of mind, body and spirit…I asked my fiancé and he says I am very generous (not trying to be vain here)…there were a few others I liked, but I really felt drawn to her…another cool thing is, Elizabeth is my fiancé’s grandmother’s name…God bless!
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And Thank YOU for telling us about a Saint that maybe a lot of us had not heard of before. How cool is that?

I’m reminded of the famous story (joke) about the boy who chose an obscure early Christian martyr for his Confirmation patron. Seems the Bishop was intrigued, and asked him what about this saint prompted him to select that one.
The boy replied" Well, all my friends were picking Patrick, and John. I figured they’re kind of busy with so many requests…and the way my life is going…I need someone FULL TIME!"
😃
 
Instead of a Saints name, you may also Choose a Virtue ( Chaisty, Patience, charity, etc. ) or one of the Gifts or Fruits of the Holy Spirit**.
 
Pardon me, but you will not have a saint who walked the earth and knows our struggles to intercede for you if you choose the name of a virtue.
 
acadiANNA said:
Pardon me, but you will not have a saint who walked the earth and knows our struggles to intercede for you if you choose the name of a virtue.
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But they could ask for the prayers of all or any saint. Just like the rest of us.
 
acadiANNA said:
Pardon me, but you will not have a saint who walked the earth and knows our struggles to intercede for you if you choose the name of a virtue.
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Maybe technically…but at every Mass we ask fro the intercession of the communion of saints…and one can ask any saint at any time as well.
I agree, a saint name is preferable.
 
Must the name chosen be that of a saint, or can it be the name of someone who has inspired my faith journey and my decision to convert to Catholic? After nearly 40 years of spiritual searching, and often wanting to become Catholic but for various reasons never pursued it… I was inspired several months ago by the passing of my mother-in-law who I adored and who was a very devout Catholic. Her unwavering faith during her last days moved me so strongly that a week after her passing I called my local church and joined RCIA. I would love to honor her by taking her name but it is not a saint’s name. Any chance I would be allowed to do that?
 
So happy to hear that you are coming to the faith! God bless you! Be assured of my prayers.
Well, it should be a saint…but, before you think it’s not possible…research the name…there are literally thousands of saints…you might just find that her name IS a saint’s name…do some looking…also, perhaps her middle name might work as well…
or perhaps a saint that SHE had a particular devotion to…
good luck to you in your search! Let us know!
Peace.
 
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