Bishop to grant confirmation faculties to priests in some cases

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
Diocesan priests were advised on Nov. 26 that in some cases, Bishop John E. Keehner will grant pastors the faculties to confirm baptized adults. This would allow adult Catholics to be confirmed outside of the traditional parish confirmation Mass with students, which is celebrated by the diocesan bishop.
 
“It’s not blanket faculties,” Father David Esquiliano, judicial vicar, stressed. “Bishop Keehner has decided to grant faculties to priests per casum, or for a specific case.”
 
The judicial vicar pointed out that church law is clear that the bishop is “the ordinary minister of confirmation, especially for those who are already Catholics.” The law also states that priests can confirm those being received into the church as catechumens or candidates, which often occurs at the Easter Vigil.
 
One exception was during COVID when Bishop Emeritus Walker Nickless granted faculties to pastors to confirm. Should a priest confirm a baptized Catholic without the granted faculties for that individual, the sacrament would not be valid.
 
It is the preference of the diocesan bishop regarding whether or not he would grant faculties in the case of a baptized Catholic, Father Esquiliano said. Bishop Nickless preferred to confirm baptized Catholics himself, where Bishop Keehner has a different preference.
 Cherokee and Holstein confirmation class 2025.“Bishop Keehner comes with different pastoral experiences, different pastoral needs, perhaps similar to our experience here in rural Iowa,” the judicial vicar said. “Neither is wrong according to the law. It’s a different application of the law …I think Bishop Nickless wanted to emphasize the role of the bishop, which is very important. Bishop Keehner wants to perhaps give more options to the people.”
 
Cases where a pastor might request faculties includes marriages. For example, an adult planning to be married in the Catholic Church but is not confirmed, goes through the confirmation preparations but there is not a confirmation Mass planned for the near future in that parish.
 
“So if there is no confirmation plan in the parish until after the wedding, that creates a conflict,” Father Esquiliano said, noting these situations could trigger a request for faculties to confirm.
 
Adults in that situation may have been referred to a confirmation Mass in a nearby parish to receive the sacrament or wait for an extended period to be confirmed.
 
Another situation would be an adult that would go through the former Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)who were not confirmed as children but were baptized and received first Communion but want to complete their Christian initiation process.
 
“Bishop wants to have a more homogeneous group when he confirms, when he goes to a parish and confirms children, as opposed to having anyone from a seventh grader to a 70-year-old (in the confirmation group). That was another reason why Bishop Keehner wanted to do this,” the priest explained.
 
Receiving the sacrament of confirmation with other adults, or individually is more comfortable than being grouped with children. Father Esquiliano said adults preparing for confirmation often express they preferred not to be confirmed with the students.
 
Also, a homogeneous group is more conducive to effective homilies, he pointed out.
 
“The bishop will be preaching to our students about vocations, how to live out the gifts of the Holy Spirit as they go and engage the world growing up. That doesn’t apply to somebody who is already 40,” the judicial vicar explained.
 
Due to the challenges of accommodating adults seeking confirmation, the diocesan priests were pleased to learn of the opportunity to request faculties to confirm baptized adults.
 
Father Esquiliano said the directive sent to the priests suggested that Pentecost is an appropriate time to confirm adults, but in reality, a pastor may request faculties throughout the year, if needed to meet a wedding deadline.
 
“You don’t have to wait for a large group to confirm them,” he said. “Practically speaking, that may not be possible.”
 
For a pastor to receive faculties to confirm baptized adults, he would complete a written request including the relevant details and send it to the diocesan director of worship, currently Father Andrew Galles, at the Central Catholic Offices. Bishop Keehner would review the request and determine whether or not faculties will be granted for the confirmation.

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