June 10, 2025 // Bishop

‘This is Only the Beginning’

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

43 Adults Confirmed at Cathedral of Immaculate Conception

On Pentecost Sunday, June 8, pews were filled to the brim at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne as 43 adults were confirmed by Bishop Rhoades.

Confirmandi hailed from a variety of parishes in the diocese. On the previous Sunday, the feast of the Ascension, Bishop Rhoades held the adult confirmation Mass on the South Bend side of the diocese at St. Matthew Cathedral, where 46 men and women were confirmed.

“I saw so much peace on their faces when the Holy Spirit fell upon them,” said Ivan Miranda, pastoral associate at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and catechist, of three confirmandi from the cathedral. “I am just so happy that [through confirmation preparation], they get to more fully understand the beauty of the sacraments and the magisterium of the Church.”

Miranda, as a first-year catechist, told Today’s Catholic that he felt great pride as his students approached the altar to receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“It was very beautiful to witness the confirmations, especially because this was my first year teaching. They understood that confirmation was not just a one-day thing but the start of a long journey to heaven,” shared Miranda. “This is only the beginning for them.”

The catechist explained that while Bishop Rhoades typically travels to individual parishes for middle school confirmations, the sacrament for adults is a time when confirmandi across the diocese come together.

Miranda added that each of the confirmadi have unique stories on how they came to be confirmed.

“Each has a different background. I had one who had a conversion. … He was baptized but fell away for a bit. Then, a family member passed away at one point in his life and he felt called to find the Lord because of the deep devotion the family member had. He was deciding between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, and he was able to explore and come to the faith,” he said.

“They had different stories but were on the same journey. I think that is what they took from this. … They are not alone in their lives now,” Miranda said. “I’ve been praying for them constantly, and I want to keep in contact with them. It is important to keep in contact with them because it’s not the end, it is only the beginning for them.”

In his homily, Bishop Rhoades addressed the group, who were readying themselves to be confirmed. 

“Today, the feast of Pentecost, is a perfect day to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation, since it was on Pentecost Sunday that the apostles received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the very beginning of the life of the Church,” he said.

​​“This Advocate, the Holy Spirit, was already at work since the creation of the world. He is the Creator Spirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of creation. He is the Lord and Giver of Life as we profess in the Creed,” Bishop Rhoades continued.

He also reminded the confirmadi of the gifts they received at baptism – namely, of “being adopted sons and daughters of the Father.”

“We have been raised above our natural standing to the dignity of being adopted sons and daughters of God. By the grace of baptism, we are made participants in Christ’s filial relation to the Father,” Bishop Rhoades said.

“This is a mystery we can only marvel at, just as St. John did when he wrote: ‘See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.’ And because of our divine adoption, we have the honor of addressing God as ‘Abba, Father,’ like Jesus did,” Bishop Rhoades explained.

“You have all chosen saints as your confirmation names. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ who have already reached that goal. We can learn from their example – they lived by the Spirit as faithful disciples of Jesus and lived lives of great faith, hope, and charity,” he said. “They opened themselves to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and lived those gifts, producing wonderful fruits for the Lord and His Church. They now reign with Christ in glory and continue to pray for us, who are still pilgrims on this earth.”

Bishop Rhoades concluded his homily by saying: “My patron saint, St. John the Apostle, is one of my closest friends – other than Jesus and Mary, of course,” said Bishop Rhoades with a smile. “I encourage you to get to know your patron through prayer and continually ask for their intercession on your journey to heaven.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.