The Why

We recognize that this new confirmation preparation process is very different from other Catholic Churches, and different from what you may have experienced.  We changed it for two important reasons:

Young People are Leaving the Catholic Church in Large Numbers

The Dynamic Catholic Institute reports that 85% of confirmed teens will leave the faith within 7 years.  That is a sobering statistic.  Studies also show that young people are making this decision at a young age- either in late middle school or early high school.  After observing the previous process for confirmation, we decided to research the decisions teens from St. Gabriel are making about their church involvement.  We discovered that the statistic was similar- 83% of young people confirmed at St. Gabriel were no longer active in the church by the time they reached 12th grade.  Given this information, we decided the confirmation process needed to be re-designed.  We needed to find a way to reach our young church and provide impactful experiences and encounters that connected them with God and his Church.

This is the Loneliest Generation Ever Studied

This generation is the loneliest generation ever to be studied. According to research from Spring Tide Institute, 1 in 3 of our young people feel completely alone much of the time and nearly 40% have no one to talk to and feel left out (Belonging: Reconnecting America’s Loneliest Generation).  The research in the Belonging report concluded that if a young person has 5 trusted adults in their life, these numbers go down dramatically, and teens are better equipped to thrive in their adolescent years leading into adulthood.  Based on this research, our teens need help to find a trusted adult to do life with.  This is why we have chosen the Sponsor to fill the role of leading the candidate on the journey. We hope the relationship the teen builds with their sponsor will give your teen the opportunity to be a little less lonely.

In addition, the role of the sponsor is to profess to the Bishop that the candidate is ready to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  By choosing the sponsor to be on the journey, we are giving the sponsor an opportunity to profess their candidate’s readiness with confidence and thus restoring an important role the Sponsor fills at the Rite of Confirmation.