Pope Leo XIV has encouraged young Catholics preparing to receive the sacrament of confirmation to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of perseverance, warning that too many young people “disappear from the parish” after receiving the sacrament.
Confirmation
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.
The Catholic Church must put more effort into ensuring that the sacrament of confirmation is not the “sacrament of goodbye” for young people, who receive it and then do not come to Church again until they want to get married, Pope Francis said.