Confirmation is the third sacrament of initiation and serves to “confirm” a baptised person in their faith. The rite of confirmation can occur as early as age 7 for children who were baptised as infants but is commonly received around age 13; it is performed immediately after baptism for adult converts. A bishop or priest normally performs the rite, which includes the laying on of hands in prayer and blessing and the anointing of the forehead with chrism (holy oil) with the words, ”Be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.” In so “sealing” that person as a member of the church, the outward rite of confirmation signifies the inner presence of the Holy Spirit, who is believed to provide the strength to live out a life of faith. At confirmation a Catholic may symbolically take the name of a saint to be his or her patron.
