St. Andrew the Apostle

Message from the Pastor, September 18, 2024

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As some are aware, our diocese is lowering the age for receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation from 9th grade to 6th grade. The diocese has given parishes until 2027 to make this transition as the logistics that this entails are very complex, especially for a parish of our size.

Many considerations factor into this change for our parish:

• Each year we confirm about 45 youth for a single grade, this is considered a large class.

• Because multiple grades will need to be prepared, some sessions and events would double or triple the number of attendees. When preparing more than one grade, we will not fit into our parish meeting spaces for some sessions. 

• This requires a significant increase in the number of volunteers during our preparatory sessions in order to meet the needs of the number of candidates.

• We will need multiple Confirmation dates as all families will not fit in the church for a single Confirmation Mass.

• Bishop Johnston’s vision also includes a family & candidate retreat. This will be developed by our SALTIRE team. Additionally, he envisions a required retreat for parents which will need to be executed by the parish in the future.

• Moving forward, the expectation will be that our school students will receive Confirmation through our parish. These students will be prepared with a combination of classes through our school as well as through a few sessions within the SALTIRE youth program.  Those not enrolled at school will be prepared solely through the SALTIRE sessions.  

This is our plan for completing this transition: 

• 2024-2025 school year: Both 8th and 9th graders will be prepared for Confirmation. Parents of 8th and 9th graders should already have been contacted with important information. 

• 2025-2026 school year: 6th through 8th graders will be prepared for Confirmation. Those families will be contacted with details later in the year.

Preparing middle school students for Confirmation will look differently than preparing second graders for First Holy Communion. They are at a different stage in development and have different needs. Questions can be directed to our Confirmation and Youth Director, Carolyn Anch, at [email protected] or to our Assistant Youth Director, Paige Rioux, at [email protected].

We are eager for our young people to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and look forward to beginning this journey together with you.

Sincerely Yours in Christ, 
Rev. Eric A. Schneider
Pastor, St. Andrew the Apostle Parish