CONFIRMATION
The Effects of Confirmation
1) According to the Council of Trent, this Sacrament makes us perfect Christians; hence the name perfectio, sometimes applied to it by Latin writers. Further, according to St. Thomas it also confers fullness of grace, and is therefore known to the same authors as “sacramentum plenitudinis gratiæ.” 2) Confirmation makes the Christian a soldier, and marks him with a new character which is, as it were, the military credentials of the souls in perpetual warfare with God’s enemies. This character will remain in the life to come, “just,” says St. Thomas, “as the status of a soldier remains after the victory, to the glory of the conquerors and the shame of the conquered.”
Matter and Form of Confirmation
The matter of Confirmation is composed of the following three elements: 1) The imposition of hands. This was the ceremony by which the Apostles conferred the Sacrament. 2) The holy chrism, blessed by the bishop on Maundy Thursday. It is the ordinary symbol of the outpouring of the graces of the Holy Ghost. 3) The anointing, by which the holy chrism is applied. The form of Confirmation is the formula which accompanies the anointing.
The Subject of Confirmation
This must be a baptized person. In the Latin Church he should be seven years old, unless danger of death, or some other grave reason makes an earlier Confirmation desirable. The confirmand should be in a state of grace, and if he has reached the age of reason, should be sufficiently instructed (Canon 786). According to the Pontifical he must possess the “rudiments of the Faith.” Further, synods have ordered that the Confirmation candidates should be examined in the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments.
Minister of Confirmation
The ordinary minister is the bishop. The pope may allow other priests to be extraordinary ministers. The parish priest may now, on the territory of his parish, confirm all sick persons in danger of death, and not yet confirmed, whatever may be their age.

CEREMONIAL OF CONFIRMATION
1. Preparatory Ceremonies
The Invocation
Turning to the candidates, the Bishop sings or says:
Spiritus Sanctus superveniat in vos, et virtus Altissimi custodiat vos a peccatis. May the Holy Ghost come down upon you, and the power of the Most High keep you from all sin.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
The Bishop makes the sign of the cross, and says:
℣ Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini. ℣ Our help is in the name of the Lord.
℟ Qui fecit cælum et terram. ℟ Who hath made heaven and earth.
℣ Domine, exaudi orationem meam. ℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟ Et clamor meus ad te veniat. ℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ Dominus vobiscum. ℣ The Lord be with you.
℟ Et cum spiritu tuo. ℟ And with thy spirit.
The Collective and Preparatory Imposition of Hands
The Bishop stretches his hands over the candidates, and says:
Oremus.—Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui regenerare dignatus es hos famulos tuos ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto, quique dedisti eis remissionem omnium peccatorum: emitte in eos septiformem Spiritum tuum sanctum Paraclitum de cælis. Let us pray.—Almighty, everlasting God, Who hast vouchsafed to regenerate these Thy servants by water the Holy Ghost, and hast given them remission of all their sins; send forth upon them from heaven Thy sevenfold Holy Ghost, the Paraclete.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
℣ Spiritum sapientiæ et intellectus. ℣ The Sprit of wisdom and understanding.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
℣ Spiritum consilii et fortitudinis. ℣ The Spirit of counsel and fortitude.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
℣ Spiritum scientiæ et pietatis. ℣ The Spirit of knowledge and piety.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
Adimple eos Spiritu timoris tui, et consigna eos signo crucis Christi, in vitam propitiatus æternam. Per eumdem Dominum…in unitate ejusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Fill them with the spirit of Thy holy fear, and sign them with the sign of the cross of Christ in mercy unto eternal life. Through the same Jesus Christ…in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
2. The Sacrament
The Anointing with Chrism, With Individual Imposition of the Hand

The candidates may come up in two ranks with joined hands, carrying the card bearing their Confirmation name. The sponsor of the boys, the sponsor of the girls, places his or her right hand, which should be without glove, on the right shoulder of each candidate.

The Bishop, stretching the fingers of his right hand over the head of each candidate, anoints his forehead with his thumb dipped in holy chrism, and gives him a triple blessing, saying

N., signo te signo crucis et confirmo te chrismate salutis, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. N., I sign you with the sign of the cross, and I confirm you with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Every one confirmed replies
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.

The Bishop then gently strikes each candidate on the cheek, which takes the place of the kiss of peace, as is shown by the words: Pax tecum, which the Bishop says.

During the Confirmation, if the candidates are numerous, a suitable hymn may be sung.

3. The Concluding Prayers
When all have been confirmed the following antiphon is sung or read:
ANTIPHON
Confirma hoc, Deus, quod operatus es in nobis, a templo sancto tuo, quod est in Jerusalem. (T.P. Alleluia.) Confirm, O Lord, * what Thou hast wrought in us, from Thy holy temple which is in Jerusalem. (P.T. Alleluia.)
℣ Gloria Patri. ℣ Glory be to the Father.
℟ Sicut erat. ℟ As it was.
After the antiphon has been repeated, the Bishop turns to the altar and sings:
℣ Ostende nobis, Domine, misericordiam tuam. ℣ O Lord, show us Thy mercy.
℟ Et salutare tuum da nobis. ℟ And grant us Thy salvation.
℣ Domine, exaudi orationem meam. ℣ O Lord hear my prayer.
℟ Et clamor meus ad te veniat. ℟ And let my cry come unto Thee.
℣ Dominus vobiscum. ℣ The Lord be with you.
℟ Et cum spiritu tuo. ℟ And with thy spirit.
PRAYER
Oremus.—Deus, qui Apostolis tuis Sanctum dedisti Spiritum, et per eos, eorumque successores, ceteris fidelibus tradendum esse voluisti; respice propitius ad humilitatis nostræ famulatum, et præsta; ut eorum corda, quorum frontes sacro chrismate delinivimus, et signo sanctæ Crucis signavimus, idem Spiritus Sanctus in eis superveniens, templum gloriæ suæ dignanter inhabitando perficiat: qui cum Patre, et eodem Spiritu Sancto vivis et regnas Deus, in sæcula sæculorum. Let us pray.—O God, Who didst give Thy Holy Ghost to Thine Apostles, and hast willed that through them and their successors the same gift should be delivered to all the faithful: look graciously on the service we humbly render to Thee; and grant that the same Spirit coming down upon those whose foreheads we have anointed with the holy chrism, and signed with the sign of the holy cross, may by His gracious indwelling make them a temple of His glory, Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, world without end.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.
The Bishop then gives to the confirmed a special blessing in this form:
Ecce sig benedicetur onis homo qui timet Dominum: Benedicat vos Dominus ex Sion, ut videatis bona Jerusalem omnibus diebus vitæ vestræ, et habeatis vitam æternam. Behold, thus shall every man be blessed who feareth the Lord: May the Lord bless thee out of Sion, that thou meyest see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life, and have life everlasting.
℟ Amen. ℟ Amen.

The Bishop sits down, and puts on his mitre. The newly confirmed recite aloud the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary.

The Bishop gives the Pontifical Blessing to the whole attendance.