The Columbus diocese just changed when Catholic kids can get confirmed. Here’s why

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• The Diocese of Columbus will lower the age of confirmation to fourth grade (ages 9 and 10).
• Bishop Earl Fernandes cited increasing secularization and challenges to faith as reasons for the change.
• The new confirmation process will be implemented over four years, starting in fall 2025.

Bishop Earl Fernandes announced June 26 that the Diocese of Columbus will be lowering its age of confirmation to the fourth grade.

In an address published on the diocesan website, Fernandes said that the age of confirmation will be lowered to age nine and 10, around fourth grade for most children.

Fernandes said that after “recognizing the importance of the catechetical formation for the Catholic faithful, particularly our children and their families,” it became apparent that “formation of families was one of the most important pastoral issues to address in the Diocese of Columbus.”

“I’m seeing that our young people, especially children, are being exposed to challenges that we were never exposed to at our age,” Fernandes said in a video statement. “There’s greater secularization … there are many, many challenges to faith — and I am seeing that our young people need the grace of the sacrament of confirmation earlier.”

Confirmation has typically been offered to children in the diocese between the ages of 12 and 16, which means some may be confirmed in 6th grade and as late as 10th grade — but the average age is 14 or in 8th grade, according to the diocese.

Fernandes said that he has seen “too high of an attrition rate of young people falling away from the church.” He also said that he wants the members of the diocese to move away from the idea that confirmation “is graduation from the Catholic faith.”

“It will be earlier so we can form young people in the virtues to develop them and accompany them through school,” Fernandes said.

The process began two years ago, and the decision was made after a year of deliberations and consultations by a committee tasked with exploring the possibility of changing the confirmation age. After the group proposed lowering the age, the diocese then conducted a focus group with parish and school personnel, which “expressed an overwhelming support” for lowering the age.

“A primary reason for their support of this proposal was the unanimous concern of families not raising their children in the Catholic faith and the need to resuscitate the Catholic identity of our children through the power of the Holy Spirit,” Fernandes said.

The new confirmation process will start over the next four years, beginning in the fall of 2025 and will be fully implemented by 2029. The diocese will provide monthly training and formation of parish catechetical staff, religious educators, and catholic school educators over the next four years. 

What is the sacrament of confirmation?

Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments available to the Catholic faithful.

In the sacrament of confirmation, “the baptized person is ‘sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit’ and is strengthened for service to the Body of Christ,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. At a confirmation, a Catholic affirms their commitment to God and the Catholic Church.

According to the Diocese of Columbus, confirmation “is a significant step in the growth and development of every Catholic, necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.”

Columbus diocese joins others in trend of lowering age

Columbus is the latest Catholic diocese in the United States to lower its confirmation age. 

Earlier in June, both the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Florida, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced they would be lowering their confirmation ages — with the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee announcing it would lower its age to as young as seven, according to The Catholic Review.

Other dioceses, including the Diocese of Baton Rouge and the Archdiocese of Seattle, have lowered their confirmation ages in recent years, according to Aleteia.

Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at [email protected] or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report