The Sacrament of Confirmation is conferred usually on students in grade seven. However, confirmandi must be at least in grade five. If there are any Ukrainian Rite Catholics in the Confirmation class, please see page 4, Appendix I: Ukrainian Catholic Students.
A. Sponsors for Confirmation
- Neither the father nor the mother of a candidate can be a sponsor for the Sacrament of Confirmation. (Code of Canon Law, c. 893; cf. c. 874 §1 5°)
- It is desirable that the godparent at Baptism, if available, also be the sponsor at Confirmation (c. 893 §2). This expresses more clearly the link between Baptism and Confirmation. Nonetheless, the choosing of a special Confirmation sponsor is not excluded.
- Sponsors must be at least sixteen (16) years old and Catholic (cf. c. 874 §3).
- The sponsor need not be of the same sex as the candidate.
B. Prayers of the Faithful
The first prayer should include a reference to "Francis, our Pope, and Michael, our Bishop." A prayer for vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life should also be included. Six intercessions is the maximum number to be offered.
C. The Mass
It is customary in the Archdiocese of Vancouver for the Sacrament to be administered during the celebration of Mass. The Mass to be used is one of the ritual Masses for Confirmation (cf. Roman Missal pp. 1126-1130), unless the Mass of the day takes precedence, as it does on Sundays of Advent, Lent and Easter and on Solemnities, and during Holy Week.
- Readings: readings from the Mass of the day may be used or exchanged for a corresponding reading from the Lectionary nn. 764 - 768. During the Easter season the First Reading must be taken from the New Testament (cf. n. 764). There should be no Readings from the Old Testament in Easter Season.
- The Gloria is said or sung when Confirmation is celebrated.
- Eucharistic Prayer: note the appropriate inserts for Eucharistic Prayer I, II, and III on p. 1127 of the Roman Missal.
D. Music
Music should be appropriate to the liturgical season and to the celebration of Confirmation. The texts should be doctrinally sound.
The parts of the Mass should be sung, using the ICEL chants only for the Lord Have Mercy, Gloria, Holy Holy Holy, and Lamb of God. Three of these chants can be found in the Roman Missal of 2011: the Lord Have Mercy (p. 494), Holy Holy Holy (pp. 506-507) and Lamb of God (p. 644). 1 The Psalm response should also be sung.
Before the ceremony, the choir director should briefly meet with the Archbishop, so that he knows when to expect singing.
E. The Ceremony
The confirmandi should be seated all together in groups on the left and right of the centre aisle. They do not have to be separated according to gender. The sponsors should be seated in corresponding groups behind them. Confirmandi and sponsors should not be intermingled in the seating.
After the homily and questioning of the candidates, the confirmandi should stand for the Renewal of Baptismal Promises.
Immediately after the Prayer for the Laying on of Hands, the first two groups of confirmandi, one from the left and one from right of the centre aisle, are to form a single line across the front of the sanctuary, with their sponsors lined up behind them. Rather than all the young people waiting in place for the Archbishop to finish confirming the whole line, when the Archbishop reaches the centre of the church and has finished confirming the group from one side of the aisle, they should return to their places, together with their sponsors, while the Archbishop continues to confirm those remaining in line. The next group should immediately come forward and be in place on their side of the line. The same process should take place on the other side of the church, so that there is a continuous line of young people for the Archbishop to confirm, with no interruptions in the flow of the Rite until all have been confirmed.
Please contact the Archbishop's Office in advance if you plan on using a different method of bringing the confirmandi to the Archbishop; for example, if you prefer to have the Archbishop confer the Sacrament as the confirmandi approach one-by-one as they do for the reception of Holy Communion.
The sponsor should be instructed to place his or her right hand on the candidate's shoulder before the Archbishop comes to him/her and to keep the hand on the shoulder until after he has moved on to the next candidate.
F. Spiritual Bouquet
It is a traditional practice for the confirmandi to offer a spiritual bouquet to the Archbishop, to be presented to him after the Post-Communion Prayer and before the Final Blessing.
G. Photographs
Pastors are to tell their congregation not to take photographs during the Rite of Confirmation. If the pastor desires, one designated photographer may stand off to the side and take pictures during the ceremony. The same applies for the taking of videos.
Group photographs must be taken before the ceremony. If at all possible, it is advisable to arrange for group photos outside the church building; for example, in the school or parish hall.
The Archbishop will be pleased to provide opportunities for individual photographs after the celebration. The newly confirmed must remain in their robes for photos with the Archbishop.
Approved: 2021 February 26
+ J. Michael Miller, CSB
Archbishop of Vancouver
The following policy is hereby SUPERSEDED:
General Guidelines for Confirmation with Pastors and Teachers, effective November 22, 2018.
Appendix I: Ukrainian Catholic Students (Ukrainian Rite Catholics)
The following memo concerns certain procedures in connection with Ukrainian Catholic Students in anticipation of the Sacrament of Confirmation being conferred in the Latin Rite. It was sent by the Albert Inter-Rite Committee on September 9, 1976, to all parish priests and principals of Catholic schools within the jurisdiction of the Alberta Bishop's Conference. These same guidelines apply in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
In the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Confirmation is administered immediately after Baptism. Problems arise when Ukrainian Catholic students fail to realize that they have already been confirmed. To obviate difficulties, the following guidelines are to be observed:
- The certificate of Baptism issued by the Ukrainian Catholic parish states explicitly that the person has been not only baptized but also confirmed. Thus Baptism certificates of potential candidates for Confirmation in the Latin Rite are to be personally reviewed by the pastor (and principal) in the event of the candidate is enrolled in the Confirmation class. Only in rare cases where a baptismal record cannot be located is it permissible to accept an affidavit.
- If a Ukrainian Catholic child has been baptized and not confirmed, the matter should be referred to the proper pastor of the child. If this is not possible, because no Ukrainian Catholic priest resides or serves in that locality or region, the Ukrainian Catholic Chancery should be notified before any steps are taken to enroll an Ukrainian Catholic child in the Latin Rite Confirmation class.
(1) Music for the Gloria, as well as the other ICEL chants, can be found at http://www.icelweb.org/musicfolder/openmusic.php.