By Paula Glover
Editor
CHEYENNE – Bishop David Ricken has lowered the age for the Sacrament of Confirmation from high school to the 7th grade in an effort to make diocesan-wide procedures uniform, to match new guidelines from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and also to confirm a greater percentage of children.
Right now, only around 40 percent of those children baptized in Wyoming are confirmed.
“By receiving Confirmation in the 7th grade, they will receive the benefit of the strength and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in one of the most challenging and difficult times in their lives,” Bishop Ricken said in a pastoral letter.
Deacon Ed McCarthy, director of education for the diocese, said the switch will come in 2004. Plans are under way now for a either a deanery-wide or a state-wide celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation because there will be many young people to be confirmed that year.
As part of the process, there will be a review of texts to be used in religious education and preparation for Confirmation, with the goal of choosing a text for all programs.
Deacon McCarthy said in order to retain high school students in religious education and youth ministry programs, the overall ministry to high school students will be examined.
Bishop Thomas Tobin, of the Diocese of Youngstown, said his diocese switched the age of confirmation five years ago, when he discovered that only about half of those baptized were confirmed. “This was a significant problem,” he said.
The transition took a couple of years, but he said it went smoothly. He said the bonds formed in the confirmation classes have frequently continued into high school.
“We’re pleased with the results here,” he said.
He believes the 7th graders “need the graces of the sacrament. We put too much emphasis on human efforts. Young people need the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
 

"Wisdom, age and grace"

CHEYENNE – One of the joys of my ministry as your Bishop is the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. We have terrific young people across the State of Wyoming in the Diocese of Cheyenne.
I have been honored to meet, spend time in class, and to pray with each group of the confirmandi before the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation and most of all, I have been privileged to be able to confer upon them “the inexpressible Gift, the Holy Spirit Himself
Our young people instill a great sense of hope in me, their catechists, their parents, family and friends. Completing their initiation into Christ and the Church through this Sacrament is a joy for the parish and for all involved in this ministry.
When Jesus was 12 years old, he, his mother, Mary, and foster father, Joseph, had gone up to Jerusalem, as was the “festive custom” of the Jews during the High Holy Days. On their return trip to Nazareth, Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not with them or their relatives so they went back to Jerusalem only to find him in the temple listening to the teachers and asking them questions.
The teachers were astonished by his wisdom. Jesus then returned to Nazareth with his parents and as the scripture says, “He advanced in wisdom, age and grace.” (See Luke 2:41-51.) May our young people who are preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation grow in wisdom, age and grace as did Jesus.
 

Observations as the new Diocesan Bishop
 

As I traveled the many miles (well over 3,000 miles each year) across the Diocese of Cheyenne to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation, I have made the following observations. The youth are generally well prepared and are ready to receive the Sacrament.
However, the catechists and parents often mention what a struggle it has been for the youth to attend all of the classes because of the many and various extracurricular activities and commitments of high school students today.
I have noticed that while the norm for the age of Confirmation in the diocese is 16 or 17 years old – around the junior year in high school – the practice in the diocese is quite varied. Some parishes ask the Bishop to confirm their students in the eighth or ninth grade and one parish, as a special experiment, has been asked to prepare and celebrate Confirmation for their students in the second grade at the same time as they celebrate First Eucharist.
 

A serious concern
 

I recently researched how many of our children who are baptized actually receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. According to diocesan statistics, out of every 100 of our children who are baptized, around 60 make their First Communion and only 40 are actually confirmed. So many of our people are missing out on full initiation into Christ and His Church through the special grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
For couples who are preparing for marriage in the Church, the lack of this Sacrament creates an additional burden. Those Catholics lacking the Sacrament are required to receive it before the conferral of the Sacrament of Matrimony unless Confirmation cannot be administered without grave inconvenience.#
Catholics seeking to marry greatly benefit from the special graces bestowed in the Sacrament of Confirmation.
However, the preparation for marriage alone is already demanding on a couple’s time. A “crash course” in preparation for Confirmation at the same time as preparing for marriage is, for many, an excessive burden. The frequent result is either a cursory preparation for Confirmation or the delaying of its conferral to some indeterminate date, which frequently never arrives.
 

The age of conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation
 

The Sacrament of Confirmation is important for full incorporation into the sacramental life of the Church. Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized receive the Holy Spirit, whom the Lord sent upon the Apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the other disciples gathered in the upper room on the Feast of Pentecost.
Through this Sacrament, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit in order to be true witnesses to Christ so that they may spread and defend the faith in word and deed.# The reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace, which makes this Sacrament of important assistance to the Christian faithful.#
In the United States in recent years, especially since the promulgation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, there has been a great deal of discussion around the Sacraments of Initiation and the importance of keeping Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist together as one sacramental action when welcoming an adult or a child of catechetical age into the faith.# This is done at the Easter Vigil Mass with all of the beautiful Rites of the Church fully engaged in their symbolic beauty.
For those who are baptized as infants in the Catholic Church in the West, the Code of Canon Law stipulates in canon 891 that, “the Sacrament of Confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion unless the conference of bishops has determined another age, or there is danger of death, or in the judgment of the minister a grave cause suggests otherwise.”# Shortly after the new code was approved for universal use in 1983, the Catholic Bishops of the United States authorized each bishop to determine the age of confirmation in his own diocese.
 

The practice in the Diocese
 

On Oct. 31, 1985, my predecessor, Bishop Joseph Hart, established the preferred age for the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation to be in the junior year in high school, approximately 16 or 17 years of age but, in certain instances, allowed for the conferral of Confirmation to be in the freshman year in high school, approximately 14 years of age.#
In 1997, Bishop Hart permitted an experiment to be undertaken at Sacred Heart Parish in Greybull and at St. Joseph Parish in Lovell where the age for the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation was to be in the second grade, approximately 7 years of age and the age of discretion. In the Diocese of Cheyenne, therefore, the Sacrament of Confirmation is being conferred in some parishes at the age of 7, in others between the ages of 12 and 17.
On Nov. 15, 2000, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops approved new norms on the age for the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation. They selected an age range between the age of discretion and 16, to be determined by the diocesan bishop with respect to legitimate exceptions given in canon 891. This new norm was subsequently approved by the Holy See and became effective July 1. Since this new particular law for the dioceses of the United States has become effective, the norms for the Diocese of Cheyenne must now be modified to be in compliance.
 

A Diocesan study
 

Bishop Joseph Hart began a study in the diocese on the age of conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation and the formation being undertaken to prepare candidates for this important Sacrament. One of the purposes of this study was to develop a recommendation for a uniform practice in the diocese for the age of conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Upon the retirement of Bishop Hart and my becoming the Diocesan Bishop, I directed this study to continue and a recommendation be presented to the Presbyteral Council.
The results of this study were presented at the March 20 meeting of the Presbyteral Council where the Council thoroughly discussed the matter. I greatly appreciated their advice and the advice of all who participated in this study.
 

Declaration and Decree
 

Having carefully weighed the advice given me by the confirmation study group and by the members of the Presbyteral Council and by virtue of my authority as the Bishop of Cheyenne, I hereby declare and decree that:
The usual age for the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation will be in the seventh grade, approximately 12 or 13 years of age.
Bearing in mind that the bishop may be present in some parishes only every other year to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation, the candidates, in those instances only, will be in both the seventh and eighth grades.#
All previous particular legislation, customs and practices in the Diocese of Cheyenne are hereby abrogated. By the Solemnity of
Pentecost, May 30, 2004, all parishes are to be observing this new age for the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Benefits of the change
 

By moving the age of Confirmation from its present position to the seventh grade (or seventh and eight grades for biannual conferrals):

• We can achieve the first and most important goal of our study, to make it possible for more of our young people to be presented for and to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

• By receiving Confirmation in the seventh grade, they will receive the benefit of the strength and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in one of the most challenging and difficult times of their lives. The Holy Spirit will assist them in making good decisions and to remain faithful to God and the Church through what are often difficult teenage years and will enable us to work with their parents and sponsors during this stage in their children’s lives.

• Having received the Sacrament of Confirmation, they will be better prepared for sacramental commitments later in life without inserting the preparation for Confirmation into the already busy time of preparation for marriage.

• The youth will be receiving this Sacrament of Initiation at an earlier age, closer to the Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist. The change to this younger age will be a solid intermediary step toward restoring the proper order to the Sacraments of Initiation.

• However, it will be less disruptive to the catechetical and liturgical life of the diocese than a move to an even earlier age in one sweeping gesture. It will better position the diocese in the event that a change to an earlier age is made in the future. I anticipate that the conferral of Confirmation in seventh grade (or seventh and eight grades for biannual conferrals) will be the norm for the Diocese of Cheyenne for at least the next decade.

• It will establish a uniform practice in the diocese for the age of conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation, a fact that will strengthen our catechetical efforts and liturgical celebrations
 

Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation
 

Preparation and catechesis for the Sacrament of Confirmation will be one year long and will consist of a separate and distinct preparation in addition to the normal religious education instruction. I have directed the Diocesan Director of Religious Education to assist pastors and catechetical personnel in the implementation of this new norm. The director will also assist in the selection of texts and programs, that will have my approval, and will effectively help our youth prepare for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
The first celebration of Confirmation, according to the new norm, will be in the Spring of 2004. Preparation that year will be offered to all those between seventh and twelfth grades during the 2003-2004 academic year, and will result in their reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation in the spring of 2004. One very large diocesan-wide celebration in June of 2004 is now under serious consideration.
In the 2002-2003 academic year, the preparation for and celebration of Confirmation should remain as it has been and is currently. No changes in programming or age will happen until the 2003-2004 school year.
 

Outreach to High School Students
 

One concern expressed is that this moving of the conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation to a younger age will make it more difficult to recruit young people for high school programs. Part of the formation for Confirmation at the younger age will be to emphasize that the newly confirmed should continue their religious formation and the building of community with others their age in the parish.
Also, I have asked Deacon Edward McCarthy, Diocesan Director of Religious Education, and Mr. Jim Zierden, Diocesan Director of Youth Ministry, to work together with high school catechists and youth ministers to design compelling course curricula and a vibrant youth ministry so that our young people in high school continue to live out their Confirmation commitment through their high school years and grow in the gift of their faith.
I now want to use this opportunity to thank the pastors and especially the confirmation catechists who have given of themselves so generously in the past years to help form our young people for the Sacrament of Confirmation. You have accomplished a fine and very committed work and my hope is that, in collaboration with your pastor, you will be able to re-orient your ministry to a younger age or to discern a new call so that your gifts do not go unused. There will now be even more creativity and zeal required to reach our high school youth with the fullness of the message of the Gospel.
May the Holy Spirit, which was originally poured out at Pentecost, rush upon us all and empower us to be true witnesses to Christ so that we may spread and defend the faith in word and deed.
 

Given in Cheyenne this fifteenth day of August, the Solemnity of Our Lady of the Assumption, Patroness of the Diocese of Cheyenne, in the Year of Our Lord, 2002.
 

The Most Reverend
David L. Ricken, DD, JCL
Bishop of Cheyenne
Carol DeLois
Chancellor