Eight adults received the sacrament of confirmation last Sunday 19th May 2024, on the feast of Pentecost, by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Galea-Curmi during a Mass celebrated in the Parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Ħal Balzan.
These adults are from different countries, including Malta, Brazil, France, Columbia and Germany, the Curia said in a statement Tuesday.
The eight candidates had been preparing for their confirmation over the past months with the help of catechists from the Christian Initiation of Adults Ministry within the Archdiocese of Malta. The catechists guided them in the discovery of their identity as children of God, taught them how to listen to the Word of God, and nurtured them in the love of neighbour.
While it is the parents and godparents who make the decision that a baby is to be baptised a Christian, it is the adult candidates themselves who consciously and maturely take this commitment to Christian life through the renewed power of the Holy Spirit, after having already received it in baptism.
14 adults who were baptised by Archbishop Charles Scicluna during the Easter Vigil also participated in the same Sunday Mass. The feast of Pentecost marks the end of a period of 50 days since their baptism, during which they continued to receive catechesis and liturgical formation about Christian life, especially about the sacraments.