Too old to be confirmed?

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Anselma

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Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice on this issue! šŸ™‚

I was baptized Catholic and received my First Communion, but was never confirmed as I was not observant in high school, which is the time when the church I attended held confirmation.

I have recently become observant again and am curious if I need to do RCIA in order to be considered a ā€˜full memberā€™ so to speak. Iā€™m going to be traveling around for the next 1.5 years so taking any kind of 6-8 week classes in order to remedy this is out of the question for the moment.

Thanks again!
 
Talk to your pastor. Youā€™re never too old to be confirmed. If all you require is confirmation, I canā€™t you having to go through all of RCIA. Priests can do private instruction as well. I canā€™t seeing it take 6 to 8 weeks of instruction. When I was confirmed, there wasnā€™t much to it. All you needed to know was what the sacrament was and what it gives you. This can all be found in the Baltimore Catechism.
 
I am in your same situation and I will be getting confirmed at the age of 44! I talked to my Priest and he said I only need to take 2 classes. I am not sure if that meant 2 classes that ran for 6-8 weeks or just 2 individual classes. I guess I will find out when they start in a couple of months again. I am so excited!
 
Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

Iā€™ve been looking around to find the answer as I currently donā€™t have a pastor. Since I am moving around so much I donā€™t have a parish to call home.

x
 
teach30 said:
I am in your same situation and I will be getting confirmed at the age of 44! I talked to my Priest and he said I only need to take 2 classes. I am not sure if that meant 2 classes that ran for 6-8 weeks or just 2 individual classes. I guess I will find out when they start in a couple of months again. I am so excited!
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Congratulations!

Phew! I was worried I would have to go through the whole RCIA process, which I know can be rather lengthy in some parishes. I wouldnā€™t have any objections to that, itā€™s just that I would have to weight for a few years before it would be feasible for me.

Thanks! šŸ™‚
 
Anselma said:
Hi everyone,

I would really appreciate some advice on this issue! šŸ™‚

I was baptized Catholic and received my First Communion, but was never confirmed as I was not observant in high school, which is the time when the church I attended held confirmation.

I have recently become observant again and am curious if I need to do RCIA in order to be considered a ā€˜full memberā€™ so to speak. Iā€™m going to be traveling around for the next 1.5 years so taking any kind of 6-8 week classes in order to remedy this is out of the question for the moment.

Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Talk to your pastor. You are a Catholic, RCIA is really not the right place for you. Many parishes have adult confirmation opportunities, a series of a few classes followed by confirmation with the bishop.
 
I agree with everyone else. You need to figure out where you parish is and talk with your pastor.

Parishes handle adult confirmation in all kinds of ways. While RCIA is not the right venue for catechized Catholics, itā€™s often used as a catch-all for faith formation. In other cases parishes or dioceses have adult confirmation classes lasting anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
 
Hi Anselma

It is great that you have chosen to be observant again. I am kind of the same with you. I am 47 but was confirmed only on paper as I was baptised and confirmed at the same time when I was a little baby. I sat through RCIA for 9 months because my 2 teenagers were getting confirmed. It was a really good experience for me because I learnt more in 9 months than in my entire life - and I am on the path of straightening up my faith now. I know you said you might not be able to sit through that long but I hope you can get a similar experience. Confirmation ā€œsealsā€ your faith and what better way to do it than going through something like the RCIA. God bless.
 
No such thing as too old! I was confirmed last year at 53:) (actually I came into full communion with the Church since I was not raised Catholic.)

At our parish we have had folks in RCIA that were Catholic but had never been confirmed. I think it depends on the personā€¦how familiar a person is with Church teaching, the Catechism, etc. I know more than a few Catholics that have no where near as much as knowledge of the Catechism as those who have gone through RCIA. Many think the Immaculate Conception refers to Maryā€™s virginity rather than being conceived sinless. In fact, most sponsors of candidates/catachumens share that they learned a lot more about their faith by supporting the ā€˜newbyā€™.

One other option in our Parish is what we call ā€œfast trackā€. Itā€™s more of a condensed version of RCIA with active parishioners, RCIA Team members studying The US Catholic Catechism for Adults with ā€œfast track membersā€. Itā€™s a great program and a great way to get connected to the parish community as well.

Whichever way you go, may God bless you on your journey!
 
I agree, youā€™re never too old to be confirmed! šŸ‘ I was confirmed last year at age 57. I was baptized Catholic as an infant, fell away from the church after my mother died when I was 13.

At my church I was required to attend RCIA for 9 months in order to be confirmed at the Easter vigil. It sounded like a huge commitment, but it was sooooo worth it! I learned more in RCIA than I had in all those years of Catholic elementary education.

My advice is to take the classes. It will make your renewed commitment to the Church so much more meaningful and will give you a stronger foundation to continue your walk with God after confirmation is over.
 
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