Confirmation programmes - 

Confirmation Programme

2022 - the sacrament of Confirmation took place on Sunday 9th October 2022 at 12pm with Bishop Alan presiding. Congratulations to all confirmed candidates.  Please keep up to date with our weekly newsletter for upcoming programmes.

If you are an adult seeking to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, please see the RCIA page or speak to one of the priests.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
(Acts 2:1-4)

The Sacrament of Confirmation confers special graces of the Holy Spirit upon the person being confirmed, just as such graces were granted to the Apostles on Pentecost. Like Baptism, therefore, it can only be performed once, and Confirmation increases and deepens all of the graces granted at Baptism. It strengthens those who receive it to spread and defend the Catholic faith by word and deed.

In our parish, teenagers in year 10 are invited to enroll on the Confirmation programme, which begins each autumn, and runs through to the following summer, when the sacrament is bestowed at Pentecost. There are 2-3 sessions a month, which run on Sunday afternoons and aim to teach the young people about the faith, help develop their prayer lives, and encourage them to make the faith their own as they mature. A number of visiting speakers provide engaging input, and the young people also go on a weekend retreat and undertake some supervised community work (e.g. visiting the local hospital or helping serve food to the homeless) as part of the programme. We also support the parents of our confirmation candidates, to help them in their important vocation.