Confirmation

Current Confirmation Requirements | Confirmation FAQs | What’s Changing With Confirmation?

Overview

The age of Confirmation is currently in the process of lowering to 6th grade. If your child is interested in being Confirmed, please reach out to Megan to learn the next steps for preparation. The Sacrament of Confirmation takes place in the spring semester.

Our current Confirmation program is integrated with our Youth Program, meaning class credit will be earned by attending youth group events and activities. Unlike popular belief, the youth group is not only about bowling and eating pizza. It is Christo-centric (Christ-centered) and has a heavy emphasis on interactive catechesis. Life Nights combine formation and knowledge, thereby making it the best “classroom” environment for our Confirmation students.

Have questions or want more information about Confirmation?

Megen Engelen
Middle School Youth Minister
Confirmation Coordinator
mengelen@allsaintsdunwoody.org
770-393-3255 ext. 103

Registration
Service Projects
Sponsor Form
Service Project Form

Important Dates

Confirmation Registration Deadline – August 15th, 2026
Letter of Intent Deadline – August 15th, 2026
All Paperwork Due – December 8th, 2026

2027 Confirmation Rehearsal – January 31st, 2027 @ 1:30pm
2027 Confirmation Date – February 7th, 2027 @ 5pm

Current Requirements

Please email all paperwork to mengelen@allsaintsdunwoody.org by the given due date.
Letters of Intent are due Aug. 15th. All other requirements are due Dec. 8th. 

  • Step 1: Register – Each candidate must register for the Confirmation program and submit all sacramental record information.
    • Make sure you are a registered parishioner at a Catholic parish.
    • If you are registered at another parish, submit a Letter of Consent/Delegation from your pastor saying your teen can receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at All Saints Catholic Church..
  • Step 2: Submit Letter of Intent – The candidate must write a Letter of Intent to either the pastor or a member of the youth ministry team. Due August 15th of the school year in which the Candidate is to be confirmed.
    • Letters of Intent are written to show the pastor and/or youth ministry team why it is that the candidate desires to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. The minimum length of the letter is a paragraph. The use of AI is unacceptable, and detection software will be used on all Letters of Intent.
    • If no letter is received, candidates will be required to sit down with either the pastor or a member of the youth ministry team for a Confirmation interview.
      • If desired, candidates can opt to participate in an interview instead of the Letter of Intent at any time.  
    • The letter should be submitted to mengelen@allsaintsdunwoody.org
  • Step 3: Volunteer – Complete 6 service projects. We require that at least 3 service projects take place at All Saints or through an All Saints Ministry.
    • For the offsite service projects, we want to empower the teens to get more involved in the community at large. If your teen has an idea of something that could be done but is unsure if it would qualify, don’t hesitate to ask.
    • With each of these service projects, we ask that the teens fill out the online Service Project Form, including a picture of themselves participating in the project and answering a few questions.
  • Step 4: Choose a Confirmation Sponsor – A sponsor plays a very important role in a candidate’s Confirmation journey. He or she is able to:
    • Give witness to the Catholic faith and his/her personal relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, ministry, and honest sharing with the candidate.
    • Spend some dedicated time throughout the process with the Candidate reflecting on scripture, the Catholic faith, prayer, and what it means to live out your Catholic faith as a disciple of Jesus.
    • Serve as a faith-filled mentor to the candidate to help him/her process thoughts, concerns, and questions about Confirmation and the Catholic faith. Sponsors do not know all the answers, but they know how to listen and guide.
  • Step 5: Complete the Saints Project – Select a Confirmation Saint and complete the Saint Project.
    • We take Saint names to draw close to a specific prayer warrior in Heaven who can pray for us and remind us of our baptismal calling to become saints. Often our Confirmation Saint serves as a role model for us throughout our life as we aspire to grow closer to God.
    • Teens must answer the following questions in their projects:
      • Which saint did you pick?
      • Why did you choose your saint?
      • Tell us some information about your saint.
    • Different ways a project can be completed: Paper, PowerPoint, drawing, poem/rap, sculpture.
  • Step 6: Attend a Retreat – Teens are required to attend a retreat with the All Saints Youth Group. They can attend a Fall retreat, Spring, or Summer camp, or Steubenville Atlanta. School retreats, while we recommend them, DO NOT fulfill our requirements.
    • Oct. 17th: Confirmation Day Retreat at All Saints
    • Jan. 9th: Confirmation Day Retreat at All Saints
    • Mar. 5th – 7th: Life Teen & Edge Retreats at Camp Hidden Lake
  • Step 7: Attend Battle Plan:”A Confirmation Crash Course” – Each summer we offer a one-week Confirmation crash course called Battle Plan. Any student seeking the sacrament of Confirmation must attend a Battle Plan session before being Confirmed.
    • 2027 Battle Plan: Dates will be announced in the Spring
  • Step 8: Attend Rehearsal – This is held on the Sunday prior to the Confirmation Mass, at 1:30 pm. This rehearsal is mandatory for candidates and Sponsors. If the Sponsor is unable to attend the rehearsal, a stand-in is mandatory.
    • 2027 Confirmation Rehearsal – January 31st
  • Step 9: Attend Confirmation Mass – The Confirmation date for 2027 is February 7th at 5pm.
    • Mass Attire: no jeans, shorts, flip-flops, tennis shoes, or hats
      • Young Men: Dress shirt, tie, slacks, jacket, and/or dress shoes
      • Young Women: Dresses and/or Dress Pants, and Dress shirt. If you wear a halter, strapless, or spaghetti-strap dress, a light sweater must be worn at all times. Dresses must be a minimum length of three inches above the knee. If a dress that is too short is worn, a pair of leggings or tights will be provided.

Non-Catholic School Teens – Everything in the section above PLUS:

  • Attend Life Teen Program – Attend 75% of Life Nights/EDGE Nights throughout Year 1 and Year 2 of preparation. 
    • Records are kept according to a sign-in sheet presented at check-in for Life Nights/EDGE Nights.
    • If a student misses a Life Night, LUX, or Oasis can count as a make-up class.
    • Oasis attendance will need to be verified by Fr. Michael or another clergy member to count as a make up for Life Teen/EDGE.
Year 1 Requirements
  • Register
  • Volunteer
  • Attend a Retreat – Year 1 or Year 2
  • Attend Battle Plan – Year 1 or Year 2
  • Attend Life Teen/EDGE Program – Year 1 and Year 2
Year 2 Requirements
  • Choose a Sponsor
  • Complete Saints Project
  • Submit Letter of Intent
  • Attend Life Teen/ EDGE Program – Year 1 and Year 2
  • Attend a Retreat – Year 1 or Year 2
  • Attend Battle Plan – Year 1 or Year 2
  • Attend Rehearsal
  • Attend Confirmation
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FAQs

What if my teen cannot make the 75% attendance?

If your teen needs to make up classes for attendance, LUX counts as a make up for Life Nights missed. If your child needs to make up EDGE nights or if LUX If does not fit into your schedule, Oasis is also an option that can count as a make up day. There are also events such as Summer Camp or retreats that can count as 2 days of attendance make up.

My teen attends Catholic School. Does he/she need to attend the Sunday night Youth Group for Confirmation?

Since your teen attends Catholic School, he/she does not need to attend the Sunday Life Nights because they fulfill their Confirmation Catechesis requirement from the School. However, your teen is always welcome to come to our Life Nights.

My teen attends Catholic School. Does he/she need to attend the Confirmation Retreat?

Yes. All Teens need to attend one of the Confirmation Retreats and one of the Battle Plan sessions because this is the formation aspect of their prep which most teens do not get in the classroom setting.

My teen cannot make the Confirmation Retreat due to a school sport or event. Can he/she still be confirmed or make up the retreat?

There are two Confirmation retreats being held this year, one in October and one in January. This gives teens the option for a retreat so that sports and school events do not conflict with each other. If neither of those dates work, there is the opportunity to attend the EDGE/Life Teen retreat in the Spring.

My teen is in Year 1. Does he/she need to find a sponsor now?

While your teen does not need to find a sponsor until the beginning of the fall of their 2nd year of preparation, your teen may begin looking for a sponsor as early as Year 1. The idea of the sponsor is that the sponsor is there to guide his/her teen throughout their faith journey to Confirmation, so the earlier the sponsor is there to help the teen along their faith journey, the better.

My teen attends Catholic School and has Service Requirements from school. Does he/she need to fulfill the Service Requirements for the Confirmation Program?

Yes. Your teen needs to fulfill the service requirements for the Confirmation Program. We do not work in hours but on the number of service projects. The service project could last 20 minutes or over the course of a couple of days. Hours do not matter. The idea behind this is that the projects are sponsored by an All Saints Church Ministry and that the teens get immersed in parish life.

My child is younger than 7th grade. Do we need to start preparing for Confirmation now?

No. The new program will begin implantation in the fall of 2027. We will send out announcements via pulpit announcements, bulletin, and eNews. See the slideshow presentation in the “What’s Changing With Confirmation?” section for more information. 

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What’s Changing With Confirmation?

Some big changes that are coming to All Saints, specifically regarding Confirmation preparation and our general approach toward catechesis. After years of prayer, observation, and discernment, Archbishop Hartmayer, along with his auxiliary bishops, has made the decision that the Archdiocese of Atlanta will approach Confirmation in a new way in the coming years.

Specifically, the common age for reception of the sacrament will be shifting to 6th grade (roughly 11-12 years old), rather than 10th grade. Additionally, the whole Archdiocese has been asked to begin a shift toward more of a family catechesis model for faith formation programs.

This change comes from a recognition of the difficult waters that youth of today are navigating. It is proven that the age in which our young people are facing many common challenges is younger than generations before them. To that end, the reception of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Sacramental Graces received in Confirmation, are ever more important now at an earlier age. Additionally, the desire for a more family-oriented approach to catechesis stems from the desire to engage, support, and empower each family, recognized at Vatican II as the “Domestic Church,” to live out their faith more completely.

These changes are significant, and they are not changes that can simply be rolled out overnight. Our faith formation team, working closely with Fr. Michael, has put together a plan that will smoothly transition our parish from our current Confirmation preparation model to the new model, incorporating family catechesis, by 2030, one year ahead of the target date set by the Office of Evangelization and Discipleship.

Thank you all for your continued support and trust in our faith formation programs here at All Saints. We would not be able to do what we do without each of you and your dedication to our faith and your children. Please know that we are praying for you and ask that you do the same for our parish and all of our parish families.

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