Confirmation for Catholic Teens and Adults
Confirmation is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation along with Baptism and Eucharist. A bishop is the ordinary minister of Confirmation for those baptized before the age of 7. In addition to receiving the graces in the sacrament, one must be confirmed in order to serve as a godparent for a child or another adult being baptized or confirmed in the Catholic Church.
If you are in need of Confirmation, please contact your local parish. After verifying where and when a person is baptized, a parish will provide age-appropriate formation for confirmation, typically involving at least 6 months of learning and engagement in parish life leading up to the celebration of Confirmation.
The Bishop of Portland typically celebrates the sacrament of confirmation (with first holy Communion) for baptized Catholic* teens and adults regionally across Maine each Spring. Dates and locations for 2024:
*Note: Adults or teens baptized Christian in another denomination are to be received into full communion and confirmed by the local pastor so should not be registered as a candidate for the regional celebrations of Confirmation.
Important Info for Parish Leaders
Leader Memo from Georgette Dionne (2024 info available by March)
Parishes are asked to submit all candidate information electronically this year as part of registering to participate in a regional celebration. This means:
- You may only register baptized Catholics who are fully prepared to receive these sacraments this spring and you must have copies of their Catholic baptismal records in hand.
- Only someone with a diocesan email (i.e. already has an Office 365 account as an employee) can access and complete this form since it requires uploading files.
- You MUST have a digital copy of the baptismal record/certificate each confirmation candidate ready to upload with this registration. The pdf or scanned image file should be identified by Celebration Location-Candidate LastName-FirstName (Examples of file names: Bangor-Doe-Jane.pdf or Falmouth-Stevens-Bill.jpeg)
Candidate Information Gathering Sheet (to prepare for online registration)
Sponsor verification form (for parish use) in English and Spanish
Online registration may only be completed by parish employees
