If you are in Year Eight or above, you can register to be confirmed. Registration opens on Youth Sunday, 22 November, and closes on 31 January, so don't put it off.
Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church: the signs by which we invite God into our life. Then God, in turn, acts in our life, giving us the grace to be the best person we can be. We then become signs of God's love in the world.
“Dear young people, in Confirmation you have received the most beautiful gift, the Holy Spirit: it is not a treasure to be kept hidden, but a light that you must make shine every day.” Pope Leo XIV
When we are confirmed, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, God's active force in the world today. We are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgement), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence) and fear of the Lord (awe and wonder). These gifts enable us to live as God wants us to, as truly Christian.
“...Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1302
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” John 14:15-16
The sacraments, particularly Confirmation, enable us to fulfil our mission in life. God has chosen each of us for His own special purpose, and He gives us the skills, talents and attributes to fulfil these purposes. By being confirmed, we are saying yes to accepting our vocation, and together we can work to make the world more like the Kingdom of God.
“Confirmation strengthens us to defend the faith and to spread the Gospel courageously.” Pope Francis
If you are in Year Eight or above, you can apply to be confirmed. Registration opens on Youth Sunday, 22 November, and closes on 31 January, so don't put it off. Apply as soon as you decide you want to be confirmed.
Once you have applied, your information will be sent to the Deans and passed on to your parish priest and your school chaplain or catechists, so that they can support and accompany you.
If you go to a Catholic school, your chaplain or RE teacher may hold an assembly to let you know what is happening and to help you reflect on whether Confirmation is for you. Your RE teacher may also recap what you learned about Confirmation in Year Seven, so you can recall it clearly and have a chance to ask questions.
If you don't go to a Catholic school, or you would like to explore the basic ideas of Confirmation, you can attend an online session.
Once your parish or deanery (a group of parishes) has decided when it is holding Confirmation preparation sessions, it will contact you to invite you and let you know the dates of the sessions and of the Confirmation itself.
Please note: young people can only be confirmed if they have attended the preparation sessions and given their name to the Dean. Confirmations take place after Easter and throughout the rest of the year, so you might not hear straight away.
Registration opens to anyone in secondary school in Year Eight and above.
Schools have the opportunity to recap what was learned about Confirmation in RE in Year Seven. Chaplains may hold an assembly to encourage young people to reflect on whether Confirmation is for them.
An online session for young people and parents who would like to explore the basic ideas of Confirmation.
Registration closes. Details are passed to the Deans so that Confirmation sessions can be planned.
Additional online sessions for young people from schools that are not Catholic.
Preparation sessions begin from this point, depending on when each parish or deanery has arranged them.
Confirmations take place throughout the rest of the year.
Questions about preparation sessions, including dates, go to your parish office, not your school. For general questions about Confirmation, email confirmation@rcaol.org.uk.
Registration takes a few minutes. Have these ready before you start:
The registration form is run by the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Your details go straight to the Confirmation team and are not stored on this website.
