South Tyrol: Vatican expresses reservations about confirming at age 18

by Zoe Ryan

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May 19, 2011

The Pray Tell blog has an entry about a diocese in Italy changing the age of confirmation from 12 to 18:

Rome, 5.17.11 (Kipa) The Vatican has temporarily delayed plans of the diocese of Bozen-Brixen in south Tyrol to raise the age of confirmation from 12 to 18. The Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship has written a letter to Bishop Karl Golser asking for further information about the pilot project planned for this fall, as the diocese has confirmed to Kipa.

The letter states that the sacrament should be administered "at the age of discretion," with reference to the prescriptions of the Italian bishops’ conference which foresee confirmation "around the age of twelve."