Confirmation: One of the Sacraments of Initiation into the Church, together with Baptism and the Eucharist. Confirmation completes the grace of Baptism by an extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which seals or “confirms” the baptized in union with Christ and equips them for active participation in the worship and apostolic life of the Church.

CONFIRMATION MASS 2023
Monday, April 17th @ 7 p.m.

Please contact our Youth Minister Nick Johnson at nick.johnson@stmichaelcp.org to make sure your 7th/8th grader is registered or if you have special circumstances.

The formation of children into the sacramental life is first and foremost the responsibility of the parents. At St. Michael’s Parish, we are here to help you and be part of your team, but it is crucial that you are exemplifying the Christian Faith in your home through prayer, reading scripture, formation, and the reception of the sacraments. As mentioned before, we are here to help you form your children in the faith. One of the ways we want to help you is by offering Parent Formation Nights. We ask that parents of Confirmation Candidates attend two of the three Parent Formation Nights each year of Confirmation Preparation. Parent Formation Nights have parents attend a night specifically for parents in the parish hall while their teen can attend the EDGE Night from 7-8:30 p.m.   

Parent Meeting with Fr. Brian, 7-8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall​​​​​

• October 5th - Fr. Brian - Listen HERE

Parent Formation Nights, 7-8:30 pm in the Parish Hall​​​​​

• November 9 - Jana Burns
• February 8 - Fr. Luke & Dr. Jeanne Doyle
• March 29

Confirmation is closely connected to Baptism. Confirmation completes the graces you received at Baptism.  In order to keep the connection with Baptism, it is recommended that the Godparent also be the sponsor. It is permissible to choose a different sponsor. If you choose someone other than your Godparent,  this should be someone that has a daily prayer life and is committed to their faith. You should trust this person and be willing to open up and talk to them. Most importantly they should be a person that is willing to take this responsibility of getting you to heaven seriously. 

An brief overview of responsibilities of a Confirmation Sponsor. 

A sponsor must be 16 years old, a practicing Catholic and have received Baptism, Confirmation, and first Eucharist. You can only have one sponsor and they cannot be your father or mother. 

Sponsors are required complete the sponsor eligibility form from the Sponsor's home parish and attend a minimum of two Sponsor Nights, Confirmation Rehearsal in a pre-recorded format to watch and discuss with your candidate, and Confirmation Mass on Monday, April 17th at 7 p.m.

Sponsor Eligibility Form

Sponsor Nights, 7-8:30 p.m.
We ask that Sponsors attend a minimum of 2 Sponsor Nights with their candidates. Being that confirmation preparation is a two-year process, the candidates and sponsors can work with what's best for their schedules the Sponsor Nights offered over the course of the 2 years. The nights will be audio recorded and posted with additional content to aid the sponsor and candidates in the preparation leading up to Confirmation. 

For our out-of-town sponsors, we ask that a parent attend the night with their teen, we will audio record the night's talk and post it to our confirmation webpage along with a discussion guide under the Sponsor Night section. We ask that sponsor and candidate simply find a time to have a discussion about the night's information. These nights are to facilitate a conversation and be a resource for our sponsors to lean into as they walk with their candidates to and through this preparation time. 

• October 26
  • Talk Recording - Brokenhearted
  • Discussion Guide
• January 25
  • Video with Fr. Mike Schmitz
  • Discussion Questions

...Baptismal certificate?

In order to be confirmed, one must first be baptized. If you were not baptized at St. Michael, we need to know that you were baptized and where you were baptized.
 

…A patron saint?

In choosing a confirmation saint, we are choosing someone we want to be like and someone that can pray for us from heaven. A saint is someone who has walked the Christian walk before us and we can pray to them just as we would talk to a friend. They help us in our own journey towards sainthood. We also take on their name. This has biblical roots. Just like when Simon's name changed to Peter when he took on a new mission - you take on a new name as you take on a new mission in the Church.


…A sponsor?

The life of a Christian believer is not easy. We need to have people around us to support and uplift us as we journey closer to Christ. The Church requires a candidate for Confirmation to have a sponsor to provide prayerful support and guidance on this walk. This is a lifelong commitment that must be taken seriously. A sponsor’s responsibility is to disciple the candidate and help them fulfill their baptismal promise and live a life of prayer, sacraments, and evangelization.  
 

...Christian service?

Confirmation is calling us to live a life of discipleship. Part of being a disciple is living a life of service. We also know that when we encounter the poor, we encounter Jesus Himself. As we do service to prepare for confirmation, we will come to know Christ in a new way and come to live out a life of discipleship. This year we are not asking for a specific number of hours of a certain type to fulfill but rather a self-directed service project that should be a cumulative of 10-15 hours and share your experience by submitting a report under the 'Submission Forms' section on the side of this page.
  

…to write a letter to Archbishop Naumann?

It is important that you personally desire the sacrament of Confirmation. It doesn’t matter if your parents want it for you or your youth ministers or even your pastor - you must desire this sacrament for yourself. The Archbishop is the one who is administering the sacrament to you and needs to know that you desire this sacrament. The letter is the way to show the bishop that you want to be confirmed.