By Kathleen Quiazon, Director of Mission & Ministry

Last week the Notre Dame community gathered for the last all-school mass of the year in the Cathedral Basilica of St Joseph. This joyful liturgy included the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation. Notre Dame was pleased to welcome the Most Reverend Oscar Cantú, bishop of San Jose for his first liturgy with the school community. Bishop Cantú became the third bishop of San Jose on May 1, 2019 upon the retirement of Bishop Patrick J. McGrath.

Every two years, juniors and seniors elect to complete their Catholic initiation at Notre Dame with the Sacrament of Confirmation. This celebration of the sacrament is the culmination of coursework, retreats, service and small faith community preparation.

Almost every faith tradition and culture marks the growth of young people in faith, maturity and wisdom, a way of affirming the spiritual seeker on her growth in relationship with God. In the Catholic experience as in other Christian denominations, the Sacrament of Confirmation serves this purpose when offered to teenagers and adults. Candidates for Confirmation affirm their commitment to live the Christian faith in word and deed, work and prayer.

As a community, our prayerful presence at the liturgy is important—it is a sign that we stand in solidarity and encouragement of these 38 young women in their chosen pathway of Catholic faith. And, this is why we celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with the whole school present: these Confirmation candidates have grown in their Catholic faith through their dialogue with students of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu faiths and more. We are better spiritual seekers because we have each other.

Our prayer is that all of our students experience God’s love and encouragement in their spiritual growth, and that they can feel proud to proclaim the faith that is theirs. How good is the good God, that as families, faculty and staff we had the privilege to accompany them in that journey of faith! You can view photos of the event here.

NOTE: Bishop Cantú previously served in New Mexico and Texas before arriving in San Jose last September. We look forward to his visit to campus next fall. You can read more about him online here.