Preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation begins when the youth is a Sophomore in High School. If you are an adult age 18 or older inquiring about Adult Confirmation, please CLICK HERE to learn more.
Parent Orientation Sessions
Sacramental Requirements
Class Schedules & Attendance
Community Service Requirements
Confirmation Retreat
Confirmation Mass
Questions?
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
Parent Orientation Sessions (for PY 2020-2021)
All parents wishing to enroll their teen in the High School Confirmation program for either year 1 or year 2 must attend ONE of the following meetings. Teens need not attend. All meetings will be held in the main hall.
- Dates of Parent Orientation are PENDING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Parents wishing to enroll their teens in the year 1 program are strongly encouraged to attend the meetings in June as we are capping the class at 100 and we usually fill up quickly. Registration packets are handed out at the meetings and you cannot get a packet without attending one. If you are unable to attend the June meetings we strongly encourage you to see the checklist below on this website and have the Baptismal and First Communion certificate copies ready to go so that you can turn in your registration packet the first week of August. Partial registration packets will not be accepted, you must have everything from the checklist ready to turn in so as to guarantee a spot.
Year 1 paperwork is due in full by August 13th, 2020. High School seniors are not eligible to enter year 1 as this is a two year program. Priority will go to Sophomores and Juniors, Freshmen will be allowed in if there is space available.
Paperwork Checklist
Year I
- Application form
- Payment of $60
- Copy of candidate Baptismal certificate
- Copy of candidate First Communion certificate
- Commitment letter signed by both the parent and the candidate
Year II
- Payment of $90
- Form – Confirmation Sponsor – HS
- Copy of sponsor Confirmation certificate
- Copy of sponsor Catholic marriage certificate
- Retreat release form (will be emailed to parents in the spring of year 1 classes)
Adult Volunteers Needed
Our High School Confirmation Program is in need of small group leaders for its 2019-2020 program year. No previous ministry experience is required and you do not need to have any official training in Catechetics BUT we do need leaders with:
- a good knowledge of Catholic teaching
- a love for the Catholic faith AND
- a desire to share their faith with our youth
For more information on how you can volunteer as a Confirmation Group Leader, please contact Jen Stambaugh (H.S. Confirmation Coordinator) at JStam@olghelotes.org.
Sacramental Requirements
Confirmation Candidates (Confirmandi)
- Our High School Confirmation Program is a two year program beginning in either the Sophomore or Junior year. Please plan ahead to begin on time, as it is too late to begin in the Senior year
- Must express a readiness and desire for the Sacrament of Confirmation
- Must have a willingness to continue their faith formation beyond the Sacrament of Confirmation
- Will not have conflicts with work, sports, or extra-curricular events that prevent attending and participating in Confirmation sessions. Classes will be held on Sunday afternoons.
- Each candidate beginning in the second year must select a Confirmation name based on a saint who inspires them, or is someone they would like to emulate. Confirmation students MUST complete a 2 page paper (typed, double spaced) on the life of the saint they have chosen that includes an explanation as to why they have chosen that saint. Do not just send me a bio of the life of your saint. Tell me from your heart how you identify with your saint. A great format to follow could be to pick 3-5 virtues of your saint that you would like to exemplify in your own life and write a paragraph per virtue to further explain how and why you will live that in your life as a Confirmed Catholic. Your saint paper MUST BE IN YOUR OWN WORDS and can be turned in via email at any time before or on the FINAL DUE DATE OF December 8, 2019.
- Year 2 students will receive a Confirmation Assessment on: MARCH 22, 2020.
- Attending our Confirmation Retreat is MANDATORY. Our retreat is held at the H.E.B. Foundation’s Camp, “Singing Hills” (www.foundationcamps.org). The three-day weekend is scheduled for the weekend of: JANUARY 31, 2020 thru FEBRUARY 2, 2020.
Teens who have not yet received Eucharist will be asked to spend this year in preparation for Eucharist and will then be eligible for Confirmation the following school year.
Prerequisites for Confirmation Sponsors
Form – Confirmation Sponsor – HS
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Must be a fully initiated Catholic (received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist)
- Must participate regularly in the Eucharist
- Must not be living in marriages not recognized by the Church
- Must not be the parent of the candidate or person dating/married to candidate
- Should be able to help in the formation process through communication and meetings, and should be able to attend various events throughout the year. For this reason, we strongly recommend you pick someone local to be the sponsor.
If you need help finding a good sponsor, the Confirmation Director may be able to help find one from the parish community.
Class Schedules & Attendance
- Class Schedules for the 2020-2021 Program Year are PENDING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
Confirmation students are allowed only 3 absences. Jen Stambaugh should be informed each time there is an absence. ALL missed classes MUST be made up online following the instructions below. Students who exceed this limit will be in danger of NOT receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Students can make up missed lessons. However, this may only be done three times during the program year. So, only do this when absolutely necessary.
How do I make up for the lesson I missed?
- Please only one log-in per family, we are only allowed a certain amounts of users.
- Address: https://ascensionpress.com
- Select Log in, then create an account.
- Select Join a Study. It will ask for a code. Enter PNBZT4
*A class that is missed due to a good excuse (illness, out of town) may be made up by watching the videos of the lesson missed (reference the Class Schedules links above for lesson numbers). The following items must be turned in by the following class:
- The answered questions from the “watch it” section
- A summary (at least 5 sentences) of the “To the Heart” section
- A summary (at least 5 sentences) of the “Hero of the Week” section (#’S 2 and 3 may be typed or handwritten legibly)
- Answer the challenge of the week
Once this is turned in your absence will be changed from “unexcused” to “excused”. Please make sure your name is on all papers!! This may only be done three times in the year so please only do this when absolutely necessary. Each student is allowed three excused absences. If more than 3 are missed, the student will be in danger of not getting confirmed this year.
Community Service Requirements
All Confirmation students are required to do ten hours of service for the Church during their two years of preparation. These hours are due in their second year of formation. This year’s due date is April 26, 2020 for year 2 students only. Year 1 students do not have hours due this year but may go ahead and turn in their hours as soon as they have all ten hours completed.
A volunteer verification form must be signed by the volunteer supervisor each time service is done. PLEASE CLICK HERE to download and print a PDF version of this form. There must be both an email address and a phone number provided for the volunteer supervisor (the adult in charge of the service opportunity).
Parents may not sign as the volunteer supervisor. There is a spot for parents to sign at the bottom of the verification page, please only sign if, to the best of your knowledge, your child has truly done the service they are claiming. I will be randomly calling the volunteer supervisors to verify the hours but I also count on the parents to help keep the teens honest.
Service hours must be done with OLG or another Catholic parish as a way of giving back for all they receive from the Church. You will find a link to a PDF list of Parish Volunteer Opportunities below
Brochure – Volunteer Opportunities
Please do not turn verification sheets in until all 10 hours are completed. Once your have completed your 10 hours, please staple all forms together and turn them in any time BEFORE or ON April 26, 2020. Please do your best to limit yourself to 4 service projects so that I will only have to verify with no more than 4 supervisors per teen. You may do all 10 hours with the same project if you choose.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at JStam@olghelotes.org or leave a voicemail message for me at (210) 695-8791, Ext. 110.
Confirmation Retreat
…for Second Year Students Only!
Our Lady of Guadalupe’s 2019-2020 Confirmation Yr. 2 Retreatants will travel to H. E. Butt Foundation Camp situated along the banks of the Frio River on the 1,900-acre H. E. Butt Foundation property deep in the Texas Hill Country, 13 miles north of Leakey on U.S. Highway 83. The camp is approximately 120 miles northwest of San Antonio and 60 miles west of Kerrville. Retreat dates are Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 through Sunday, Fe. 2, 2020.
PARENTS: Information related to this retreat will be emailed to you directly and will include Medical History & Medication forms, Packing List and List of Contact Numbers.
Confirmation Mass
Our Confirmation Mass date(s) and time(s) are selected by the Office of the Archbishop and based on the Archbishop’s calendar.
For Confirmandi whose LAST NAMES begin with the letters A thru K:
- Dates of Mass and Rehearsal are PENDING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
For Confirmandi whose LAST NAMES begin with the letters L thru Z:
- Dates of Mass and Rehearsal are PENDING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Dress Code for Confirmation Mass
Both Candidates and Sponsors MUST dress appropriately and respectfully for the Confirmation Mass. Guidelines for the dress code are as follow:
MEN – Dress shirt and tie (if possible, a suit and tie)
- Dress pants
- Dress shoes
- NO JEANS
- NO TENNIS SHOES
WOMEN – Nice dress or skirt and blouse
- If not wearing a dress, pants MUST be dressy
- Shoulders MUST be covered (wear a sweater, jacket or shawl if necessary)
- Dresses and skirts must not be too tight and NO SHORTER THAN 2 INCHES ABOVE THE KNEE
- NO JEANS
- NO TENNIS SHOES
Questions?
- Jennifer Stambaugh, JStam@olghelotes.org OR at (210) 695-8791, ext. 110