His Excellency, the Most Reverend William D. Byrne, Bishop of Springfield, MA, will visit Divine Mercy Parish on Tuesday, May 24th, to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation upon Confirmandi and to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at 5:30 p.m.

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Learn more about the Sacrament of Confirmation:

Confirmation is the Sacrament in which baptized persons receive a special grace which strengthens them for the profession of the Christian faith. In the Latin Rite, Confirmation is usually conferred by the Bishop, who lays his hands on the recipients, making the sign of the Cross with chrism on their foreheads, while he says: “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Ordinary Form) or “I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”  (Extraordinary Form).

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The young men and women of Divine Mercy Parish who receive Confirmation obtain a special grace to profess the faith. On their souls are imprinted an indelible character, and so Confirmation can only be received once. When preparing for this Sacrament, the young person typically selects the name of a favorite saint for his Confirmation name.

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By Confirmation, the young people of Divine Mercy Parish continue their path of Christian initiation.  They are enriched with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and are more closely linked to the Catholic Church.  They are made strong soldiers of Christ, and so they are more firmly obliged by word and deed to be faithful witnesses of Christ, spreading and defending the Catholic faith.

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As far as possible the person to be confirmed is to have a Catholic sponsor or godparent. The sponsor’s function is to take care that the person confirmed behaves as a true witness of Christ and faithfully fulfills the duties inherent in this holy Sacrament.