Pope saddened by attendance drift after Confirmation

On May 16, the Pope met with people from the Italian Archdiocese of Genoa who were awaiting Confirmation

After recalling the significance of the solemnity of Pentecost – to be celebrated on Sunday, May 24 – the Pope lamented a sad reality: “At times, when the bishop administers Confirmation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, the children are never seen again! They disappear from the parish.”

In an impromptu message, the Holy Father said that “one of the greatest joys of a bishop is celebrating Confirmations, because it is truly a gift of the Holy Spirit”.

“Don’t forget what you have experienced during this time,” he said to the people from Genoa, “including the joy of coming to Rome to celebrate together, to pray together. And may this joy live on in your hearts as you continue to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.”

The Pope also invited young people to “persevere in the faith, to return to the parish – there are so many activities, so many opportunities – but above all in the life of faith, because Jesus Christ wants to walk with you, with each one of you, and with all of you in community, which is so important”.

“We do not live out our faith alone; we live it together. And forming these relationships of friendship and community is a way of living with perseverance as disciples of Jesus,” he added.

He called upon those to be confirmed to make a promise to the Lord: “that you truly desire to continue being his friends, his disciples and his missionaries, and that you desire to persevere in the faith”.

FULL STORY

Leo XIV laments that after receiving Confirmation, many young people ‘disappear from the parish’ (By Andrés Henríquez/EWTN News)