Baltimore Archdiocese lowers confirmation age ‘to deepen formation, reduce disaffiliation’

CNA Staff, Mar 5, 2025 / 14:40 pm

Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore has decided to lower the age of confirmation to 9 in a move designed to increase family involvement in the formation of youth. 

Amid growing disaffiliation from the Church, Catholic leaders across the country are striving to better catechize young people by lowering confirmation age requirements. The Diocese of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, lowered confirmation age requirements in December 2024. Other archdioceses including Seattle, Boston, and Denver have lowered their confirmation ages in recent years as well. 

For Lori, who has led the Archdiocese of Baltimore for nearly 13 years, the crux of the catechesis crisis is a lack of family engagement. 

After a “broad consultation” of Catholic theology, developmental psychology, and other dioceses’ experiences, Lori said he found “the decisive factor” for young people remaining in the faith was family involvement. 

“Purposeful engagement of families in the formation of their children is essential in our formation efforts,” Lori wrote in a Jan. 22 pastoral letter. “Therefore, it is my sincere hope that, by more actively engaging parents in the preparation of their children’s confirmation, the graces of the sacrament will take root in these young people’s lives — sealing their missionary identity in the Spirit and sending them forth.” 

Disaffiliation has been a growing problem in the Catholic Church in the United States.

Recent studies have found increased numbers of people who don’t identify with any religion, who check “none” when surveyed about their religious affiliation. A 2024 study by Survey Center on American Life found that nearly 4 in 10 Generation Z women say they are “unaffiliated.” Meanwhile, young people are leaving the Church as early as age 13, according to a 2018 study. 

Lori noted, however, that “changing the standard age of confirmation, cannot, in isolation, remedy the complex realities that have led to the disaffiliation from the Church in such great measure.” 

“To be sure — strengthened by the Holy Spirit — these young disciples will be better equipped to face the challenges of adolescence today, but they will demand no less care, support, and intentional accompaniment,” Lori said. “For this reason, parishes must redouble their youth ministry efforts in a manner that is richly mystagogical and supports their growth in the Christian state of life.” 

While many Catholics in the U.S. are accustomed to confirmation occurring in high school or late middle school, the archdiocese noted that 9-year-olds are perfectly capable of receiving the sacrament at a young age. 

“We often underestimate the zeal and readiness of the youngest of our disciples,” Lori noted.

The archdiocese’s formation webpage noted that confirmation “is truly about one’s openness to the work of the Holy Spirit, not about how much one knows about the faith. Nine-year-olds are not just capable of this openness but are often particularly receptive.” 

Though many have come to associate confirmation with “becoming an adult in the faith,” or as a “coming of age” sacrament, this is not accurate. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, confirmation “completes” baptism, increasing and deepening baptismal grace (Nos. 1303, 1305). confirmation is a sacrament of initiation, meant to mark and assist the faithful at the beginning of their Christian journey, not a “graduation” or completion of faith formation.

While the Latin rite typically confirms after the age of reason — usually defined as the age of 7 — Eastern rite Catholic churches typically baptize, confirm, and administer holy Communion in infancy. 

The Baltimore Archdiocese’s transition will begin in the 2025-2026 liturgical year in three phases, according to the archbishop’s letter. Each parish will implement the change over the course of one to three years, depending on demographics, leadership capacity, and other factors.

Several parishes in the archdiocese have already piloted early-age confirmation programs, with good results including “fruitful engagement of parents and family,” Lori noted. 

“Let us together pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit among our young people, their families, and those who … minister to and with them,” Lori said.