(ZENIT News / Baltimore, 16.03.2025).- The Diocese of Baltimore is added to other dioceses that have lowered the age requirement to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, as a means to improve the catechesis of young people.
The Catholic News Agency reported that Archbishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Baltimore reduced the age of Confirmation to 9, to strengthen the formation of Catholic young people and increase family participation. Thus Baltimore is added to the dioceses of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Salt Lake City, Utah, which lowered the age of Confirmation in December 2024, and the Archdioceses of Seattle, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; and Denver, Colorado, which have done so in recent years.
The United States Episcopal Conference admits the imparting of Confirmation between 7 and 17 years of age. Canon 891 of the Code of Canon Law requires being of the age of discretion of judgment and leaves the Episcopal Conferences free to determine the precise age.
In a Pastoral Letter dated January 22, Archbishop Lori said: “The determined participation of families in the formation of their children is essential in our efforts of formation. Hence, I sincerely hope that, by involving parents more actively in the preparation for Confirmation of their children, the graces of the Sacrament will take root in the lives of these young people, sealing their missionary activity in the Spirit and sending them out.”
The Archbishop pointed out that a «wide consultation» was conducted and that Catholic theology, developmental psychology and the experiences of other dioceses were analyzed to establish «the decisive factor» that facilitates the growth of young people in the faith, which was found in the participation of the family, since it is considered that the current crisis of catechesis in the American Church lies in the lack of family commitment.
The new generations in the United States do not identify with any religion and the disaffiliation of Catholics is growing. A study carried out by the Survey Center on American Life in 2024, revealed that – of women born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the beginning of 2010s – four out of ten said they were not affiliated to a religion, and males as young as 13 were leaving the Church, according to another study of 2018.
Archbishop Lori added that “changing the standard age of Confirmation cannot, by itself, remedy the complex realities that have led to disaffiliation from the Church to a large extent.» But he believes that «without a doubt, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, these young disciples will be better equipped to face the challenges of adolescence today, although they will require no less care, support, and intentional accompaniment.»
Monsignor Lori said that 9-year-old children have a perfect capacity to receive the Sacrament at that age: “We often underestimate the zeal and willingness of even the youngest of our disciples.”
Confirmation is often associated with «becoming an adult in the faith,» as a Sacrament of «coming of age.» This is inaccurate, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Confirmation «completes Baptism, increasing and deepening baptismal grace» (Nos. 1303, 1305). Furthermore, Confirmation is a Sacrament of Christian Initiation, meant to mark and assist the faithful at the beginning of their Christian journey, not a completion of their faith formation.
