April 26, 2024

There is a tongue-in-cheek maxim among bishops that the three things on which they can’t agree are which holy days should be days of obligation to attend Mass, whether the pectoral cross should be worn inside vestments or outside, and the age for reception of the sacrament of confirmation. Every bishop can make a case for why he designates youth be confirmed at a certain age in his diocese. I recall having a conversation with a bishop in another diocese which some years ago decided to go with the “restored order” for receiving the sacraments of initiation. In the restored order, confirmation is received closer to baptism and before, or soon after, first Communion. This is what we witness at…