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Confirmation & Youth Ministry
77% of Teens Want to Know More About Jesus.
Confirmation Gives Them a Safe Place to Explore.
Source: Barna Research, The Open Generation
That number might surprise you — and it makes our job as parents a little easier, as long as we meet them where they are.
Confirmation is a deeply personal sacrament — and one of the most beautiful ways a young person can say yes to a relationship with Jesus. Through it, your teen receives the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, courage, patience, kindness, goodness, and peace, to name a few.
These are the very values every parent hopes their child carries into adulthood. And they're exactly what young people tell us they're craving.
We help your teen become the person God created them to be: rooted in faith, character, and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
"When a young person tries to truly understand their faith in today's world, I see God's grace at work."
— Adrian Mison Fulay, Confirmation Director
What Is Confirmation?
Confirmation is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation — alongside Baptism and Eucharist. If Baptism offers life, and the Eucharist sustains it, Confirmation strengthens it.
Confirmation is your teen's moment to claim the faith you chose for them. It is a conscious, personal yes — sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some call it a tattoo on the heart. It's permanent. It changes you.
Through the laying on of hands and sacred chrism oil, what began interiorly at Baptism becomes outward and active. Your teen is not just receiving a sacrament. They're being commissioned — to carry faith, love, kindness, and peace into the world.
The Commitment
Corpus Christi and St. Theresa Parish have joined together for Confirmation. The program unfolds over two years, each with its own focus.
Jr High & Year One — Grades 6-9
Monthly gatherings on the First Saturday and/or Third Saturday, 6-7pm. A year of exploring faith alongside peers. 9th graders need at least 8 sessions to qualify for Year Two with Confirmation Director Adrian Mison Fulay.
Contact Adrian Mison FulayYear Two — Grades 10-12
Monthly sessions, a retreat, and service in the community — culminating in the Sacrament of Confirmation celebrated by the Bishop in the spring.
Contact Adrian Mison FulayWhat to Expect
An Accepting Space to Encounter Jesus
Teens thrive when they can talk to each other — about faith, about life, about what they actually believe. That's what this is.
Belong and Believe
Teens explore what it means to belong to a rich tradition and a community we call Church.
Community Service
Serving others is how faith becomes real. We organize everything — soup kitchens, tutoring younger kids, building homes.
Three Parishes. One Community.
Corpus Christi, Our Lady of Lourdes, and St. Theresa's have joined together — more teens, more voices, more community.
Talking to Teens About God Can Be Hard.
Sometimes we don't know if we're doing it right.
Just know that most of us are already doing it right. Research from the National Study of Youth and Religion found that 82% of teens raised by parents who talked about faith at home remained religiously active as young adults.
Let Your Teen Take the Lead.
Ask what they think — about God, about faith, about what matters to them. Teens form lasting faith when they feel their perspective is heard, not overridden.
Let them know it's okay not to have it figured out.
The single biggest barrier to teen engagement with faith is the fear of being judged for uncertainty. No one here has all the answers — including Adrian.
Make Space. Really Listen.
Teens who experience faith as something imposed rather than discovered are far more likely to leave it behind. Our job isn't to drag them here. It's to open the door.
Show up alongside them.
Teens whose parents positively engage — even imperfectly — with their faith formation are significantly more likely to maintain an active faith into adulthood.
Not sure where to start? Talk to Fr. Leo.
Contact Fr. LeoThe Data for Faith-Based Youth Is Undeniable.
of faith-active young adults report feeling lonely
vs. 31% without faith. Faith cuts loneliness in half.
Barna / World Vision
of young adults with an active faith feel optimistic
vs. just 34% of those with no faith
Barna
reduction in depression and suicide risk
Harvard calls faith "among the most protective factors known"
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
of U.S. teens motivated to keep learning about Jesus
Confirmation is where desire becomes commitment.
Barna, The Open Generation
One trusted, faith-filled adult reduces your teen's risk of feeling life lacks meaning by 75%.
Springtide Research Institute
That's YOU.
Meet Adrian.
The most inspiring part of his ministry
"Working with young people who are trying to live their faith and make it their own. When a young person tries to truly understand their faith in today's world, I see God's grace at work."
Prayer life in three words
Wonder.
Gratitude.
Praise.
Saint he'd have to lunch
"St. John Bosco — patron of young people. I would ask him how he was able to draw out the best in the young people he encountered and give them hope during troubled times."
Song that feels like God
"These Alone Are Enough by Dan Schutte. It always reminds me to be grateful for all my blessings."
After Mass ritual
The Montclair Farmers Market for treats after Mass.
Street Cred
BA in Political Science, Loyola Marymount University. Masters in Theological Studies, Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley — focusing on Liturgy, Youth, and Inculturation. Catholic school educator for 32 years in Religion and Youth Ministry.
Ready to Learn More?
Registration is open. Come to a first session and see for yourself.