Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
Pope Saint Pius X was the reigning pontiff from 1903-1914.  One of the changes he made during his pontificate has unintentionally created a conundrum for us here in the present.
Pius X thought young children should have the grace of the Eucharist, so he changed the age of receiving first Holy Communion from fourteen down to the age of reason, or seven years of age.  This is not a problem in itself, but what occurred when he did this was a change in the order in which people received the sacraments of initiation.  Before his change, people were baptized as infants, confirmed sometime between the ages of seven and twelve, and then made first Communion at fourteen.  Once the change was made, the order of sacraments became Baptism, Communion and then Confirmation.
So for over a hundred years the Church has been trying to figure out when the sacrament of confirmation could best be celebrated.  Confirmation is seen to be a strengthening of the graces received in Baptism and a gift of the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
In the late 1980s, Bishop McAuliffe moved the age of confirmation in our diocese to juniors and seniors in high school.  At that point, confirmation began to be presented to the candidates as a choice that they would make, whereas baptism was a choice made for them.  As the years went on, it seemed as if we were saying, Do you want to be Catholic, or not? While every believer must at some time choose to follow Jesus, this is not the question to ask at confirmation.  A person becomes Catholic by virtue of baptism, and that is a permanent choice.  Once a Catholic, always a Catholic.  Confirmation and Eucharist are an affirmation and strengthening of that choice.
So Bishop McKnight has decided to lower the age of confirmation to seventh grade. In order to adjust to this change, we will have confirmation on October 27 for the juniors and seniors who are already preparing for the sacrament.  In the Fall of 2020 we will have confirmation for all the young people in our parish, seventh grade and up, who have not yet been confirmed.
This fall we will begin preparation for confirmation of all young people sixth grade and up.  The 2020 Confirmation will be held at the Newman Center since we will be having so many candidates. After that, confirmation will be every two years for children in the 7th and 8th grades. So the next confirmation after 2020 will be 2022.
We will be scheduling a parent meeting in the near future to explain the details and as soon as we have a date for the 2020 Confirmation the parents will be informed.
As we prepare our young people to live our Catholic Faith, we pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit to strengthen and bless our Mary Immaculate parish.
Msgr. Cox

 Gloria, by Bernini, 1666.  Part of the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter, in the apse of the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome.