Welcome! Our Lady of Guadalupe is happy to accept teens for our two-year High School Confirmation program! If you are an adult age 18 or older, please visit our Adult Confirmation page here.
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Enrollment
High School Confirmation is a two-year program. Priority will be given to Juniors and Sophomores. Freshmen will be allowed in as space allows on a first come first serve basis.
A parent must attend an info meeting in order to enroll your teen. The two options for this meeting are on
- Wednesday, July 21
- Tuesday, August 3rd
Both meetings will be held in the parish hall at 6:30 PM. To keep numbers down we ask that only one parent attend. Teens do not need to be present at this info meeting.
In order to enroll your teen you must provide a copy of the teen’s baptismal and first communion certificates (notations are acceptable). If you do not have a copy on hand, we recommend that you call the parish of your teen’s baptism (even if that is OLG) and request a copy as soon as possible.
Year 1
1. Paperwork
- Payment of $100
- Copy of candidate Baptismal certificate
- Copy of candidate First Communion certificate
- Online paperwork: the link for this will only be given after attending one of the parent meetings
- Online paperwork will include the above items plus an application form, several consent forms required by the Archdiocese, an OLG – Helotes media release, and a commitment letter that must be signed both by the teen and the parent
2. Requirements
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
- Attend confirmation classes on Sunday afternoon
Teens who have not yet received the Sacrament of First Eucharist will be asked to spend this year in preparation for the sacrament and will then be eligible for Confirmation the following school year.
3. Class Schedules & Attendance
Year 1 candidates will attend Life Teen as their Confirmation preparation. They must have 80% attendance in order to proceed to year 2 next year. That means no more than 4 absences in the year.
To view the Life Teen calendar, please click the button below or visit the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jhbj0A1U-SmtHv0H4NuxdEMJHRQHaOcL-Zhnvdqy86g/edit?usp=sharing
4. Community Service Requirements
Year 1 Confirmation students are required to do 15 hours of service each year of preparation. Year 1 hours are due June 30th, 2022. All hours must come from the list on the link below.
A volunteer verification form must be signed by the volunteer supervisor each time service is done.
I updated this service form to download and print as a PDF. There must be both an email address and a phone number provided for the volunteer supervisor (the adult in charge of the service opportunity).
Candidates should hold onto their service forms until they have all 15 hours completed. All forms should be sent in one email to Jstam@olghelotes.org as a PDF or a photo of each individual form. If you prefer to turn in the hard copies rather than email you may staple all 15 hours together and bring to Jen on a Sunday class or drop off at the parish office in an envelope with attention to Jen Stambaugh.
5. Join Our Flocknote
This year we will be communicating all important announcements by using Flocknote. It is more important this year than ever that we are able to contact each of you should we need to cancel a class, move an event or have any other changes or updates.
Year 2
1. Paperwork
- Payment of $100
- Form – Confirmation Sponsor – HS
- Retreat release form (will be emailed to parents in the spring of year 1 classes)
2. Class Schedule
3. How do I access the Chosen videos?
Prior to coming to small groups on the dates provided on the calendar, candidates must watch all 3 videos for both lessons assigned to discuss that day. They should answer the questions in the text book and bring their book to class to show their work to the small group leader. Candidates will not be admitted into their small groups if the lessons have not been finished.
Follow these instructions to access the Chosen videos:
OLG gets charged every time an account is created with this link so please only create one account per family. Parents, you are welcome to check out the videos we use but please use your teen’s account to do so. https://ascensionpress.thinkific.com/enroll/872203?th__ug=c832b4eb&th__c=jenstambaughchosen2021
Once an account has been created, you will be able to view all study videos for the Chosen program through a platform called Thinktific. After creating a password you will need to click “complete your purchase” but you will not be charged, the amount due will be zero. If you ever have issues accessing the videos, please contact Ascension support at: support@ascensionpress.com
4. How do I make up a missed class?
If a candidate misses class, they should email a photo of the book answers to jstam@olghelotes.org no later than one week after the missed class. Please see the calendar links above to see which chapters need to be done. If more than one class is missed, the candidate will be at risk of being removed from the Confirmation program.
5. Prerequisites for Confirmation Sponsors
- 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.
6. Saint Paper
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 January 9th, 2022.
7. Community Service Requirements
Year 2 Confirmation students are required to turn in 15 hours of service this year. All service projects must be chosen from the list in the link below. Year 2 hours are due March 21, 2022.
A volunteer verification form must be signed by the volunteer supervisor each time service is done.
8. Confirmation Retreat
The Confirmation Retreat is an opportunity for teens to dive deeper into the meaning behind their confirmation. This retreat is mandatory.
The Confirmation retreat will be held at Deer Creek Camp in Medina TX on Saturday, October 9th 2022 from 8:00 am-8:00 pm.
9. 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.
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?
Contact Jennifer Stambaugh, JStam@olghelotes.org | (210) 695-8791, ext. 110