CELEBRATION OF SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 2017

This weekend (5-7 May) marks the beginning of the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation throughout the Diocese of Clogher for 2017. This year, Confirmation will be administered over the first three weekends of May.

Receiving the sacrament of Confirmation is a special moment for young people and their families. It is also an important event in the life of each parish. The Catholic Church teaches that Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation together constitute the sacraments of Christian initiation; that the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary ‘for the completion of baptismal grace’, in other words, for confirming believers to be full members of the Christian Community that is called the Church. By the sacrament of Confirmation, the baptised are bound to the Church and ‘enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit’, making them true witnesses of Christ and obliged to spread and defend the Christian faith by word and deed. Like Baptism, Confirmation ‘imprints a spiritual mark or indelible character on the Christian’s soul’ and for this reason it can only be received once in life. (See, Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. no’s 1285, 1317)

The celebration of Confirmation in the Diocese of Clogher this year also marks a moment in history for the diocese, because it no longer has a bishop – the ordinary minister of the sacrament. Thus, the administration of the sacrament has been delegated to various canons of the Diocesan Chapter of Canons by the Diocesan Administrator, Monsignor Joseph McGuinness. Where the numbers require, the canons will be assisted by local priests. This is the first time since 1942-43 (between the death of Bishop Patrick McKenna and the appointment of Bishop Eugene O’Callaghan) that the diocese has been vacant for a period of time.

The following are the dates, venues and times of Confirmations for 2017. The historic names of parishes are given in brackets.

PRAYER FOR THOSE TO BE CONFIRMED:

All-powerful God,

Send your Holy Spirit upon them

to be their helper and guide.

Give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of right judgement and courage,

the spirit of knowledge and reverence.

Fill them with wonder and awe in your presence.

We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen!

Notes to Editors.

1. The Diocese of Clogher encompasses all of Co Monaghan, most of Fermanagh and portions of Tyrone, Donegal, Louth and Cavan. It has a Catholic population of 88,000, across 37 parishes, which are served by 66 priests. There are 85 churches in the diocese.
2. Monsignor Joseph McGuinness is the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Clogher, pending the appointment of a new bishop. He is also the Administrator of the Parish of Tyholland.
3. In the early centuries of the Church, Confirmation was part of the celebration of Baptism, presided over by the local bishop. For various reasons, especially the multiplication of infant baptisms and the growth of parishes and dioceses, the bishops were not able to be present at all baptisms. In order to reserve the completion of the baptismal celebration (i.e. Confirmation) to the bishop, a separation of the two sacraments evolved in the West, and thus the Latin (or Roman) rite developed a double anointing with chrism– once at Baptism and then, by the bishop, at Confirmation. If Baptism is conferred on an adult, there is only one post-baptismal anointing, that of Confirmation. (See, Catechism of the Catholic Church, pars. no’s 1290-1).
4. The practice in the Roman Rite of anointing by the bishop expresses the communion or unity of the new Christian with the bishop and with the apostolic origins of the Church. Where it is not possible for the bishop to be present to carry out the anointing, he may delegate the faculty of administering the sacrament. This can also be done by the Diocesan Administrator where there is no bishop in charge of the governance of a diocese. (Code of Canon Law, no’s 427, 883-4).