SAN DIEGO — An epic journey is about to begin.
The bishops of the Diocese of San Diego will soon travel the length and breadth of the 8,852-square-mile diocese, which encompasses both San Diego and Imperial counties, to confer the sacrament of confirmation at local parishes.
Over a period of three months, from April 11 through June 20, there will be 82 individual liturgies, where 3,817 people, primarily teenagers, will be confirmed. This is in addition to the 1,846 who have gone through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) process and will receive the sacraments of initiation at their parishes during the Easter Vigil.
Bishop Michael Pham will preside at 40 of the confirmation liturgies and Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido at another 38. The diocese has one fewer bishop this year, following former Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano’s installation Feb. 19 as bishop of the Diocese of Monterey.
Bishop Pham has delegated to two pastors — Father Bill Zondler, of Sacred Heart Parish in San Diego, and Eudist Father Ricardo Chinchilla, of the St. James/St. Leo Catholic Community in Solana Beach — the authority to validly confirm their own parishioners this year.
The confirmation schedule will be packed. For example, on May 3 alone, both bishops will have two confirmation liturgies each. Three different parishes hosting confirmations on the same day is not unheard of; on May 9, there will be five in a single day, including the one with Father Chinchilla presiding.
“It’s just a great joy to go and visit different parishes throughout the (confirmation) season, as well as to be with the people,” Bishop Pham said.
“I don’t feel tired; matter of fact, I’m more energized,” he said, reflecting on the restorative effect that this annual tradition has on his ministry.
He said that, when he looks out at the “confirmandi,” or those who are about to be confirmed, he sees on their faces evidence of their readiness to listen to his message and of their desire to receive the sacrament with an understanding of what it is that they are undertaking.
Bishop Pham said that the teens who receive the sacrament have expressed, “through their own will, that they’re ready to live in the world (and to) witness Jesus in their own environments.”
The bishop said that the expressions of gratitude that he has received from some of the teens after their confirmation shows that “something (has) touched their lives.”
“The schedule is very full, and there are many miles traveled,” said Bishop Pulido, “but it is always worth it. During confirmation season, we see parishes come together — priests, catechists, families, sponsors and the entire community — to celebrate something beautiful.”
“Many young people and their families want to know their bishop personally,” he said. “Confirmation provides a meaningful opportunity for that encounter. It creates a space where we can introduce ourselves to them, and they can introduce themselves to us. The Church is not only about celebrating rites; it is also about building relationships.”
Confirmation is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Along with baptism and the Eucharist, it is one of the three “sacraments of Christian initiation.”
In the Western Church, the diocesan bishop is the ordinary minister of the sacrament, which is conferred when the bishop anoints the forehead of the confirmation candidate with sacred chrism and, in conjunction with the laying on of hands, says, “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Leticia Trent, director of the diocesan Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry, explained that confirmation is important because it “completes and strengthens the grace first received in baptism,” and confirmation candidates “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in a fuller way, a seal that marks us as belonging to Christ forever.”
“I often think of confirmation as a kind of spiritual strength and nourishment — like the vitamins that energize us for mission,” said Trent. “The Holy Spirit equips us with courage, wisdom and the gifts we need to bring Christ’s presence into the world.”
Bishop Pham expressed hope that the teenagers he confirms this year will “continue to connect with the Church.”
“We are social beings,” he said, adding that our relationships with God and with one another “will ever grow deeper if we continue to connect and to attend Church.”
“Through attending – and if they’re attentive — the word of God will guide them and give them direction in their lives and to witness Christ in their journey,” Bishop Pham said.
Bishop Pulido said that the sacrament “fully initiates us into the life of the Church” and gives us “a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit that strengthens us to live our faith more intentionally.”
“Confirmation is not simply a ceremony,” he said. “It is a call — for our young people and for all of us — to live as missionary disciples.”
Bishop Pulido urged parishes to take advantage of the “great opportunity” of confirmation season to “reach out to these young people, welcome them, and help them feel that they truly belong.”
“I pray that confirmation will not be an endpoint for (these teenagers),” he said, “but the beginning of a deeper relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope they come to know that they are loved, called and sent.”
