2026-27 Program Components
Overview
- Weekly Sunday (or Saturday pm) Mass attendance
- In-person catechesis
- A visit to Kessler-Fahrenkrug Funeral Home to talk about faith and Catholic funerals
- “Romans 12 Project” – 4 hours per school year
- Periodic knowledge assessments
- Demonstration of standard Catholic prayers
- Selection of a Confirmation Name (by mid-year 10th Grade)
- Selection of a Confirmation Sponsor (by mid-year 10th Grade)
Additionally, for 9th Graders (and those who are entering the program after 9th Grade):
An initial one-on-one meeting with Father to go over the program and so Father can begin to know the students.
Students can sign up for a time via the parish website starting in July.
Detailed View
1. Weekly Sunday (or Saturday pm) Mass attendance
Regular participation in Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation is a basic and easy way that our youth are formed in the Catholic faith.
2. In-Person Catechesis
Our 9th and 10th Graders will be using textbooks from the “Didache Parish Series,” published by Midwest Theological Forum.
These texts are intended for us in a Catholic parish religious education program, and are designed for upper middle and early high school students.
Classes are Wednesday evenings during the school year (see schedule HERE)
Attendance will be taken at all class sessions. Any no-show will trigger a phone call to parents to check on the child’s safety and whereabouts.
3. A Visit to Kessler-Fahrenkrug Funeral Home
In the Spring of 2027, 9th and 10th Graders will visit Kessler-Fahrenkrug Funeral Home (304 S. Commercial St., Neenah, WI 54956)
during regular class time. The purpose of the visit is to learn about Catholic funerals and how they’re an expression of our faith
in the resurrection and how we reverence and respect those who have died. It’s also a way that students can experience a
funeral home as part of Catholic life, and that there’s a ministerial relationship between the Church and funeral homes.
4. Romans 12 Project – 4 hours per school year
The “Romans 12 Project” is an opportunity for high school students in Grades 9-11 to prayerfully consider the gifts and interests God has blessed
them with, and how their own giftedness can be exercised as members of the one Body of Christ for the building up of the Kingdom of God.
Students in Grades 9-10 and Confirmation (Grade 11) will complete 4 hours per school year toward a Romans 12 Project. Students may work
together, but each student is responsible for his or her own 4 hours.
By the end of September of each school year, the student will present his or her Romans 12 Project ideas/plans to the Faith Formation Office
for approval. *Please see the Romans 12 Project Idea Sheet for project ideas based on student interests.
Students should print THIS FORM and turn it in to the Faith Formation Office by the end of September for project approval.
5. Periodic Knowledge Assessments
Students will complete three 15-20 minute online knowledge assessments at the beginning, middle, and conclusion of the Faith Formation year.
Students and parents will be notified when each assessment is available and when its completion is due.
The purpose of the assessments is to track the individual student’s progress in the head-knowledge of the Catholic faith.
6. Demonstration of standard Catholic prayers
Learning standard prayers of the Catholic faith is a cumulative effort.
Starting in 1st Grade, students learn new prayers each year, building up a repertoire of prayers they can draw upon from memory throughout life.
These prayers are learned with the help of parents and are reinforced during Faith Formation classes and Sunday Mass.
Click Here for a list of standard Catholic prayers and the year during which a student should be learning them.
9th Graders will be responsible for knowing the prayers up through 8th Grade,
and will be responsible for learning the Anima Christi and the Angelus during 9th Grade.
10th Graders will be responsible for knowing the prayers up through 9th Grade,
and will be responsible for being able to lead the Rosary during 10th Grade.
7. Selection of a Confirmation Name (by mid-year 10th Grade)
At Confirmation, the students will be called by name as they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and complete their Christian initiation.
Students are encouraged to choose a new confirmation name; however, they may decide to use their baptismal name.
In either case, the name that students use at Confirmation should be significant to them. A confirmation name is reflective of a person’s
new life in Christ as a young adult, engaged member of his Church. It should have special meaning and should express something about
who the student hopes to become as an adult Catholic.
When choosing a Confirmation name, the student should choose a name connected with, perhaps, a person or saint whom he or she admires
and would like to have as an inspiration for the ongoing life of faith. The Confirmation name should challenge the student to grow as they enter
into this next adult stage of practicing the Catholic faith.
There are several online resources that students can use in the selection of a Confirmation Name:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Roman_Calendar
catholicsaints.info/roman-martyrology
8. Selection of a Confirmation Sponsor (by mid-year 10th Grade)
When the student is confirmed, he or she will be presented to Bishop by their Sponsor. The Sponsor represents the Catholic community and,
by presenting the student to Bishop, basically testifies that the student is ready to be confirmed. Because of this, the Confirmation Sponsor
MUST be an already practicing Catholic.
In choosing a sponsor, the student/candidate for the reception of Confirmation should select a person with the characteristics listed below.
These characteristics come from the Canon Law of the Catholic Church and the guidelines for the Green Bay Diocese:
a. The sponsor may be a man or a woman, but not a parent.
b. The sponsor MUST be confirmed, MUST practice his or her faith by regular participation in Sunday Mass and Eucharist,
and MUST lead a life in harmony with the Catholic faith.
c. The sponsor will willingly participate in the Confirmand’s process of sacramental preparation, by being both a guide in the faith
and an example whom the Confirmand can look to. The sponsor exemplifies in faith and action a lifelong journey toward a closer
relationship with the Lord, participates in the communal prayers and gatherings of the Church, and will encourage the young candidate
to delve more deeply into Catholic living during the preparation period and after the Sacrament of Confirmation is received.
If the student is unable to find a suitable sponsor, he or she should contact Tina or Father. There are many parishioners at St. Gabriel who would
be more than happy to serve in the role of Sponsor for confirmation students.