Confirmation, together with Baptism and Eucharist, form the Sacraments of Initiation that are all intimately connected. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized person is "sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit" and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ.
Basic Process
For confirmation celebrated under normal circumstances, the following information is to be entered in the Confirmation Register (can. 895):
1. the legal and Christian names of the child or adult (use maiden name of a woman);
2. the name of the father (first, middle if any, and surname) and the name of the mother (first, middle if any, and maiden name);
3. the date and place of baptism;
4. the name of the sponsor selected by the person;
5. the date and place of the confirmation;
6. the title and name of the minister performing the confirmation; e.g., “Bishop John SMITH” or “Father Joseph JONES”.
Candidates for confirmation, not baptized at Sacred Heart Church, must provide a baptismal certificate from the church of baptism in advance of the celebration of confirmation.
- This facilitates in satisfying the obligation of notifying the parish of baptism about the conferral of confirmation.
- Additional reasons for obtaining a baptismal certificate are:
1) the fact of valid baptism and Catholicity will be established
2) any previous reception of valid confirmation, especially in the case of Catholics baptized in Eastern Churches, will be uncovered
3) any discrepancies between name and parentage provided in the Baptismal Register and given at the time of confirmation will be discovered
4) the identity of baptismal godparents can be ascertained