Parish Letter on Confirmations and First Communions

May 27, 2020

To: All Who Attend Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church in Quincy, IL

Re: Permission for Confirmation and First Communions

I was glad to see that Bishop Paprocki recently "delegated all pastors and parochial administrators the faculty to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to children who were scheduled to have been confirmed by him this year, giving priority to those children who recently reached the use of reason, that is, those in about third grade, who were to have been fully initiated into the Church with the reception of Confirmation and First Eucharist this past Spring." The quote is taken from the diocesan website, dio.org. I will put the entirety of the relevant text from the website at the end of this letter.

Please read this letter carefully. There are some twists and turns in how this will all work out, and some real disappointments as well. However, I think all obstacles can be overcome in this situation.

First, on the positive side, this allows us to proceed with confirmations (and, as needed, first communions) giving priority to those who recently reached the age of reason, as the diocesan website makes clear. This means the whole parish will not be put on hold, that first communions will not be delayed for a long time, and we will even be able to have a Mass with the confirmation/first communion ceremony.

Now we come to the negatives, putting the most important ones first. This is only for members of the parish. I have not been delegated to do this for anyone who is not a member. This parish was set up as a non-territorial parish, so anyone in the entire Diocese of Springfield in Illinois can belong to it, no matter how far away he lives. But if you do not live in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, you are not actually a member of the parish. You belong to a parish in your diocese. Our non-territorial parish cannot include people who reside in other dioceses. This is one of those times when it pays to live in the boundaries of this diocese. The bishop, of course, after requesting permission from the bishop of another diocese, can confirm people not from his diocese. I have delegation to confirm only for people from the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois who are also members of my parish. Those of you who are left out by this may want to email or call me to discuss your options, which will be different for each situation.

Secondly, we are limited by whatever size limitations the government of Illinois is imposing when the ceremony takes place. Right now the limit is 100 for the seating area of the church. Those with extra-large family and friend groups may have to do some trimming to the guest list.

Thirdly, confirmation and first communion will be given to those who have been judged ready to receive the sacrament. Our preparation courses in PSR were cut just at the time when we were getting into special classes on confirmation. I have notified all of the PSR teachers working in sacramental preparation to tell them that each teacher will have to find a way to provide the necessary information to be studied, and a way to test each student. I left the way to do this up to each teacher. If you have not heard from your child's teacher in a few days you may contact him to learn more. If you want to schedule your child for confirmation (first communion) I will need to have received word from the teacher that he is fully qualified to receive the sacrament(s) in question.

As with all the other stages in this slow re-opening of the state and the diocese, each stage presents its advantages and its problems. We will get through all of this, and I look forward to finding some way to get a traditional confirmation and first communion for every child willing to do the necessary work to be prepared for those most sacred things: sacraments of the Church. I realize that for those needing confirmation who are not from this diocese we just might have to wait until the bishop comes: we will see. I appreciate the great patience that all of you have shown so far, whether you are parishioners of St. Rose according to the Church's Code of Canon Law or not, and if we keep praying and offering this up, we will come through it successfully.

Fr. Joseph Portzer
Pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish; Quincy, IL

 

What follows is from the diocesan website:

Confirmations and First Communion Masses

Bishop Paprocki has delegated all pastors and parochial administrators the faculty to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation to children who were scheduled to have been confirmed by him this year, giving priority to those children who recently reached the use of reason, that is, those in about third grade, who were to have been fully initiated into the Church with the reception of Confirmation and First Eucharist this past Spring.

After such children have been confirmed and made their First Holy Communion, pastors may confirm other children and adults who previously have received their First Holy Communion but have not yet been confirmed, giving priority to those finishing eighth grade this Spring or who are still in high school. If the parish is small enough, students completing 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grade may also be confirmed, but if the parish is too large for the pastor to do them all within this calendar year, it may be necessary to delay them until next year.

Although the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop (canon 882), and it has not normally been Bishop Paprocki’s practice to delegate the faculty for priests to confirm as long as he is able to do so himself, the extraordinary nature of the novel coronavirus pandemic necessitates that an exception be made at this time for the spiritual benefit of those awaiting the reception of these sacraments, so that they may not be deprived of these sacramental graces any longer.

Moreover, delegating pastors and parochial administrators the faculty to confirm during this time respects the restored order for the Sacraments of Initiation that we have begun implementing in our diocese. In this regard, please note that Declaration no. 6/Statute no. 80, adopted as particular law at our Fourth Diocesan Synod in 2017, provides as follows:

The Sacraments of Christian Initiation shall be offered in the proper sequence (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) for children as well as for adults. To promote discipleship and stewardship as a way of life from an early age, those who are baptized as infants are to receive the Sacraments of Confirmation and Eucharist at about the age of reason, which in this Diocese will normally be in their third grade of elementary school, after they have been properly prepared and have made sacramental confession.

In terms of scheduling, the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Eucharist are to be administered by the pastor or parochial administrator within the context of celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, while observing the governmental regulations for the size of public gatherings, for example, as long as the limit remains at ten people, this could be done at a Mass with two confirmandi, their sponsors and parents, plus the priest and a liturgical minister.

Depending on the number of confirmandi in a parish, this could be scheduled at daily and Sunday Masses in the morning and/or evening, while observing the requirement that priests may not celebrate Mass more than twice on weekdays nor more than three times on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation (canon 905, §2).

Some candidates for Confirmation and/or their parents may want to have the Sacrament administered to them by the bishop rather than by the pastor. Their wishes should be respected and their names forwarded to Bishop Paprocki’s secretary, Mrs. Laura Fjelstul, at lfjelstul@dio.org, who will begin working on a new schedule for Bishop Paprocki to resume administering the Sacrament of Confirmation when the numerical restrictions have been eased.

Last, all students who have prepared for Confirmation will not be required to re-do their course work and other preparation.