The bishop of Bozen-Brixen (Italian: Bolzano-Bressanone), Ivo Muser, has decided to administer no confirmation in 2020 and 2021 (except for adult confirmation in connection with baptism of adults). The time shall be used to reflect and reform the procedure of preparation for confirmation. Eventually, the preparation time shall span at least a full year.
“Confirmation preparation as it has been practiced in many parishes of our diocese in past years will no longer exist,” the bishop said. Preparation for confirmation will last at least a year. “I am calling for a time of reflection in our diocese in which we examine our notion of confirmation and plan well at all levels for confirmation preparation.”
Bozen-Brixen is a multilingual (German, Italian, Ladin – yes, that is a language!) diocese in Northern Italy and traditionally a stronghold of Catholicism. For a long time, children used to be confirmed at the age of about 12. Some years ago, a diocesan synod favored to raise the age to 18 years, but as far as I know, this has not become a general custom yet. Before becoming bishop in 2011, Ivo Muser was professor of Christian ethics in Brixen.
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