Youth Confirmation
High School Sacrament Preparation
Faith Formation Office Hours: Monday-Thursday from 9am-3pm
Our vision is to form men and
women who are striving for
Sainthood together, strengthened
by the Eucharist and the Sacraments,
through prayer, faith formation,
and community interaction.
Please contact our Director of Religious Education
with any questions.
Program Overview
Confirmation Preparation is a two-year process, beginning as early as 9th grade.
From September to May, Parish Confirmation Classes are held Sunday mornings from 9:45-10:45am.
For 2024-2025, Year 1 & Year 2 attend classes together.
Please refer to the calendar below for specific dates and continue reading for more information about our program.
Families do not need to be registered parishioners for youth to prepare for Confirmation at St. Luke.
Most youth prepare for Confirmation in 9th and 10th grades; if youth desire to wait, they are welcome to prepare whenever they are ready.
Youth who wait until after they graduate high school (and are age 18+) to receive Confirmation will follow the process for Adult Confirmation.
2024-2025 Confirmation Calendar
This calendar contains dates for parish classes, the Confirmation Retreat,
and the Confirmation Year 2 Pre- and Post-Test, Rehearsal, and Sacrament Mass.
Requirements of Sacrament Preparation for Confirmation
The mission is to more actively engage our youth during their time of Sacramental preparation.
In the Diocese of Raleigh, sacramental preparation is a two-year process. Enrollment with our parish’s Faith Formation Office is required for reception of Confirmation. Therefore, in order to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in 10th grade, all youth must be enrolled with Faith Formation in 9th and 10th grades.
Registration for Sacrament Preparation occurs at our mandatory Sacrament Family Meeting. Multiple dates and times are offered in 2024:
- Tuesday, 7/16 | 7:00-8:00pm
- Thursday, 7/25 | 11:00am-12:00pm
- Thursday, 8/8 | 6:00-7:00pm
- Tuesday, 8/13 | 10:00-11:00am
- Sunday, 8/18 | 9:45-10:45am
- Wednesday, 8/21 | 7:00-8:00pm
Families must attend meetings at the beginning of both Year 1 and Year 2. At these meetings, we cover topics that include program requirements, Sacrament retreats, and Sacrament liturgies. Families are given paper registration forms with instructions for how to register for Sacrament Preparation. In addition to the Sacrament Preparation Registration Form, all youth in Confirmation Preparation must register for catechesis in one of three ways:
- Parish Confirmation Class (in-person only)
- At-Home Catechesis
- Catholic School Attendance (Year 1 only)
When registering for Year 1 or transitioning to St. Luke for Year 2, please submit the following documents to the Director of Faith Formation:
- Copy of Baptismal Certificate
- Copy of First Holy Communion Certificate
- Original signed and sealed Sponsor Form
- Physical copies brought to the Parish Office, or
- Black and white PDF copies emailed to the Director of Religious Education.
Please be sure in these years of preparation for Confirmation that your family is remaining close to the sacraments, especially through regular (weekly) participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is our highest form of worshipping the one, true God, who is all good and deserving of all our love, and your child(ren) are preparing to complete their initiation into this sacred mystery. Please witness to your child(ren) and actively participate in all parts of the Mass. Your example will stick with your child(ren) for the rest of their lives.
We are currently using the honor system for tracking your Mass attendance. Since Confirmation is a priority to your youth, then we trust you will make Mass and a relationship with the Lord a priority. If, however, we see that Mass attendance is irregular, we will institute a weekly Mass reflection to verify attendance.
All youth in Confirmation Preparation are required to attend a Confirmation Retreat in Year 1 and Year 2, prior to receiving the Sacrament. Our retreat occurs on a Saturday in January/February, typically from 8:30am-3:30pm. During this retreat, we stay close to the Sacraments (Mass, Adoration, and Confession), hear talks on Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and spend time in personal reflection and small groups. Lunch is provided, as well as snacks throughout the retreat. The retreat is only for candidates; neither parents nor sponsors are required to attend, although both parents and sponsors are welcome to attend.
This year, our Confirmation Retreat is on Saturday, February 8th, 2024:
- Confirmation Year 2 is required to attend for the duration of the retreat, 8:30am-3:30pm.
- Confirmation Year 1 is required to attend for the first half of the retreat, 8:30am-12:30pm.
If you cannot attend one or both retreats, we do not provide make-up retreats. Families are responsible for finding an alternative retreat and submitting confirmation of attendance to our Director of Religious Education before the Sacrament Mass.
Better catechesis of our youth includes a better understanding of all aspects of the Catholic Church. Youth will choose from a (far from comprehensive) list of special Masses to attend, specific devotions or prayers, Scripture challenges, stories of Saints, etc. – all to facilitate a deeper understanding and/or encounter with our God, the Trinity.
Youth will need to choose 20 different challenges/activities throughout the year and will need to submit a reflection for each. Reflections may be submitted using the online form or by turning in paper copies to their catechists. The list, online form, and printable copy are available in the resources at the bottom of this page. Devotion journal entries are due Sunday, March 23, 2024.
Youth may not submit multiple reflections for the same challenge/activity – i.e. If a youth attends Adoration every Friday, they are encouraged to continue attending Adoration every Friday! For their Confirmation requirement, however, they may only use Adoration as 1 of their 20 devotional challenges/activities.
Youth may submit reflections for devotional challenges/activities that are not on the list provided. Whether the devotional counts toward their 20 is at the discretion of our Confirmation catechists. If the devotional is approved, it will be added to the list for future years. If it is not approved, youth will be notified in class and via email.
This is a new requirement for CY2 beginning 2023-2024. Letters are due Sunday, December 1st, 2024.
The purpose of this letter is fourfold:
- to introduce the candidate to our Pastor by describing their faith journey from Baptism up to Confirmation Year 2,
- to express why the candidate desires to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation,
- to convey which Saint the candidate chose for their Confirmation Name and why, and
- to inform our Pastor how the candidate intends to grow in and live out their faith once they are confirmed.
This letter will be read by both our Pastor and our Director of Religious Education. Candidates are to take this letter seriously and write what is truly in their hearts. Parents are not to write this letter for their child. Please use the format provided and proofread the letter for any spelling or grammatical errors. Letters are to be typed and submitted to our Director of Religious Education by the first Sunday in December.
The Confirmation Interview is each youth’s opportunity to spend 5-10 minutes one-on-one with our Pastor. He will ask several questions about Catholic teaching, the Catholic Faith, and Confirmation Saint Names. Our Pastor enjoys this opportunity to get to know the youth at our parish!
Confirmation interviews typically occur in February and March, directly following the 8:30am Mass. Our Director of Religious Education creates the schedule following the Confirmation Retreat and will email it to CY2 families. If families have any scheduling conflicts, please email our Director of Religious Education before the Confirmation Retreat. After that point, if youth cannot make their scheduled interview date, families must schedule their interview by calling our Pastor at the office and submit confirmation of completion to our Director of Religious Education.
This is a new requirement for CY2 beginning 2023-2024.
Since youth in 10th-12th grades are above the age of reason, we expect them to know the basic teachings of the Church in which they desire to become fully initiated. Each candidate will receive the questions and answers at the beginning of CY1; at least one year of the Parish Confirmation class is dedicated to reviewing these questions, and candidates are encouraged to study these teachings with their sponsors. At the beginning of each year, candidates will take a pre-test to help them gauge the areas they need to focus on.
The Advent Activity and Service Activity are not included this year in the count of classes. We understand that things come up, so please plan accordingly. Youth who have 3 or more absences will be contacted individually.
About Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation is a completion of the Sacrament of Baptism. Through Baptism, our souls are permanently transformed when God the Father washes away the stain of Original Sin, claims us as His beloved children, and pours His Holy Spirit into our hearts, to dwell within us and teach us all truth. Through Confirmation, the Holy Spirit seals and strengthens His Gifts within us. God better equips us to serve as His missionaries in our families, communities, and the world, bearing His Fruit as we live out the purpose He created us for.
To receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, the two requirements are Trinitarian Baptism and the desire of the person to be confirmed. All candidates must come freely, of their own volition, for their hearts to be open to the Holy Spirit.
When preparing for Confirmation, there are two things each candidate must choose: a sponsor and a name.
A sponsor (also called a godparent) is a person “who presents a candidate for baptism or confirmation and undertakes responsibility for the person’s religious education or spiritual welfare.” The sponsor’s priority is to accompany their candidate as they walk with Christ and help form them through teaching and the Sacraments.
In order to undertake this responsibility, sponsors must complete our Sponsor Form. This form requires the sponsor to attest that they are in good standing at their parish and requires the parish to affirm this two-fold: by a Church Representative witnessing the sponsor signing the form and by placing their parish seal upon the completed form. We require the original, sealed copy of the Sponsor Form for each candidate.
When choosing a sponsor, youth should look for someone who:
- loves Jesus and the Catholic Church and lives that love
- will teach them who Jesus is and how to live in relationship with Him
- they trust and feel comfortable speaking openly with
- is available to make a regular commitment to meet with them (monthly)
- preferably is local and can meet face-to-face
It is very appropriate for a godparent to also sponsor for Confirmation.
Please see Catholic Answer’s Responsibilities of a Confirmation Sponsor for the specifics of a sponsor’s role before and after Confirmation.
- Old Testament
- Abram (elevated father) -> Abraham (father of a multitude)
- Sarai (noble lady) -> Sarah (mother of multitudes)
- Jacob (deceitful one) -> Israel (God prevails)
- New Testament
- Simon (he has heard) -> Peter (rock)
- Saul (prayed for) -> Paul (small, humble)
- Old Testament
These days, many consecrated men and women take on new names as they begin their new lives dedicated to God.
The purpose of choosing a Confirmation name is to show that a change is taking place, that the candidate is accepting the call and mission God has for them. There are two circumstances to consider:
- For those who already know the Lord and are continuing in their discipleship, it is appropriate to choose one of their Baptismal names – this emphasizes and affirms the continuity between Baptism and Confirmation.
- For those who are choosing for the first time (or in a big way) to know, love, and serve the Lord, it is appropriate to choose a saint who witnesses to living God’s call and has meaning in their life. Saints to look at are those whose feast days are on their birthday, who are patrons of their interests or situations in life, or whose stories speak to the candidate’s heart.
The only wrong Saint is the Saint chosen carelessly – please be intentional in choosing as this Saint will be praying and interceding for the candidate throughout their life!