Sacrament of Confirmation
In the Archdiocese of Washington, Confirmation is always celebrated within Mass to express more clearly the fundamental connection of this sacrament with the entirety of Christian initiation, which reaches its culmination in the Eucharist. Students in the Archdiocese of Washington are to be confirmed in the 7th or 8th grade. Adults who have not been confirmed should contact their parish priest in order to receive instruction.
Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation constitute the "Sacraments of Christian Initiation." Confirmation is necessary for the completion of Baptismal grace. By the Sacrament of Confirmation we are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we are called to be true witnesses of Jesus Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace: