The Middlesbrough parishes of The Holy Name of Mary and St Thomas More

Confirmation is the sacrament which completes the sacramental grace of baptism. It is often understood as a further expression of the gift of the Holy Spirit, first given in baptism. Through Confirmation, a Christian becomes a full adult member of the Church.

The word Confirmation comes from the Latin, confirmatio, a seal. The minister, usually a bishop, signs the person with the seal of the holy spirit by laying hands on them and anointing them with Chrism (holy oil).

We celebrate Confirmation together with all of the pairshes of the Central Middlesbrough Pastoral Area. Candidates for Comfirmation are usually in Y9 and Y10 of secondary school. Because candidates are from two year groups Confirmation is only celebrated once every two years.

This sacrament is a chance for young people to tell the whole community how important their faith is to them. For this reason our Confirmation preparation is based in the parish and not in school. Both parishes of St Thomas More and The Holy Name of Mary prepare their candidates together.

Young people who are of the right age, part of the worshipping community and want to make this step for themselves will be invited to do so by the parish priests during Sunday Mass. They are asked to write a short letter to the priests stating why they wish to be confirmed.

The next celebration of Confirmation for our Pastoral Area will be in 2008.