"When are we going to have the kids confirmed?" Patrizia asked the question at a community meeting in October 2006. She was Federico's mother, and she wanted to know.
Our Fede e Luce community in Santa Croce had been working toward an answer for some time. The year before, we had begun preparing these young people for the sacrament, thanks to Don Emilio, the parish priest and our spiritual assistant, and Enzo, our catechist. Don Emilio had been assigned to work with Federico, but his schedule was packed. He simply couldn't find the time for regular meetings. Enzo, by contrast, threw himself into the work with real energy—steady, consistent sessions week after week. As a capstone to that year of preparation, he had even taken Marco and Michele to the World Youth Day in Cologne. But the event was poorly organized, and the chaos overwhelmed Michele. He came back to Italy wanting nothing to do with church or priests or any of it.
Now we faced the same question again: How do we bring our young people toward the sacrament? How do we welcome them into adult Christian life? And it was a mother asking us all to answer.
How could we do it? How could we take the intense experience that Michele, Marco, and Federico had had the year before, deepen it, and help them arrive ready before the Lord?
It was then that a new spiritual assistant arrived in our community: Father Luciano. Right away, he showed real sensitivity toward Fede e Luce and toward the families of our young people especially. His arrival felt providential. Together with him, we thought: why not let the whole community walk this spiritual journey alongside Federico, Marco, Michele, and Daniele (who had joined us in the meantime) as they prepared for confirmation? And what better time to live such an experience than during our regular gatherings—our weekends in the countryside?
Using the route guide we often bring to structure our meetings, we began a journey with the "friends of Jesus." Each gathering, we came to know John better, then Peter, then Joseph and Mary, and so on—always reminding the young people of the path we were walking together.
Alongside these weekends, we created some more focused moments, both for the whole community and for individuals. We devoted one day to the Mass in our parish chapel, where Father Luciano explained all the liturgical signs we see and the prayers we recite every Sunday—often without really understanding them. Then we spent a weekend on confession. One evening, we gathered in a circle. One of us got ourselves dirty with mud (sin), and then asked a friend to clean us off. But that friend got dirty too. Then we brought clear water (confession) that washed away all the dirt. The young people watched intently. The next day, we all went to confession: friends, young people, and parents together.
For each young person, we wanted to do something individual as well: introduce them to the saint whose name they carried. At first, we planned to visit the church named after each saint—Marco would go to Saint Mark's, Daniele to Saint Daniel's—to see their images, hear their stories, and ask for their prayers as confirmation approached. But Federico and Michele presented a problem. Rome has no church of Saint Michael, and no church of Saint Frederick! So we got creative. Federico loves woodworking, so we chose Saint Joseph of the Carpenters. For Michele, we decided to visit Castel Sant'Angelo, where the statue of the Archangel Michael looks out over all of Rome.
We also tried to involve the families, asking them to pray regularly with their children. Two weeks before the big day, we gave the young people a task: recite five Ave Marias—one for each of their friends approaching confirmation, one for their bishop, and one for our community.
The young people clearly benefited from this journey. The proof? Michele, who at the start wanted nothing to do with it, eventually asked himself if he could receive the sacrament.
A few days before the confirmation liturgy, we met with the bishop of the Northern Sector, Monsignor Dieci, to explain our community and especially the situation of the young people about to receive the sacrament. Don Enzo (he prefers to be called that) was immediately very welcoming. He even promised that he would come even if there was only one young person present—there was always the possibility that one of them might change his mind!
We also held a meeting with the parents to plan together how the liturgy would unfold: how we would process in, who would do the readings, who would lead the prayers, what we would bring to the offertory, whom we would invite. And we planned the celebration afterward. We paid special attention to the liturgy itself. This was the most important moment, and we wanted it to be perfect. We wanted the young people and the whole community to remember these moments for a long time.
And then the day arrived.
The community split into small groups and helped at each young person's home, assisting them to dress and then going with them to the parish church. The bishop met us there. Before the liturgy began, he received a small gift from all of us—a stole decorated with the prints of our hands. He spent some time with the young people and their parents.
Then the liturgy began. It happened that this was the feast of the Baptism of Jesus. It is hard to describe everything we felt: the church full (for the occasion, many friends from other Fede e Luce communities had come, and the community of Saint Valentine was there in force), the joy of everyone present, the pride of the parents, the happiness of the young people. Federico in a jacket and tie for the first time. Michele, quite nervous with emotion, calmed down the moment the bishop administered the sacrament to him. Daniele rubbing his forehead and breathing in the fragrance of the holy oil. The father of Marco moved to tears. Gianluca serving as an altar server for the first time, guided by Father Luciano. Brunella crying out at the moment of the invocation of the Holy Spirit. Don Enzo's tender touch as the young people came forward for communion. Roberto guiding the bishop, telling him what to do and what to read.
Everyone present was deeply moved—whether they belonged to Fede e Luce or were experiencing the community for the first time. It was a liturgy of and by all of us. Friends, parents, and young people had all had a hand in it. And everyone could see that we had arrived at this day after a long journey walked together.
Now we will find ways to continue on this path, so that these young people of ours, welcomed now among Christians who choose to be adults, can find an ever more active role in our Church.
Pietro Vetro, 2008