Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-04-17
ARCHBISHOP
CONFIRMS 29I
Impressive Ceremonies Wit
messed by Great Throng
at Cathedral
MANY BABES HELD IN ARMS
SeYerallndiansin Gorgeous Rain
ment Were Present as
Sponsors

The great Cathedral OF ST. Francis
was literally packed with people yes
terday afternoon when His Grace the
Most Reverend Archbishop Pitayal ad-
minis,ered the sacrament of cOnfrma.
; ,Ion 10 no less than 291 persons. Mosr
Iot those confirmed. however, were
/ babies, according to the old Spanish
custom where parishes are a great
distance apart and it is difficult for
/ bishop to visit them more than once
in five or ten years.
The scene was one long to be re-
membered by those who had never be
fore attended such ceremony. The
timorous cries of the little babes.
many Of whom We're as beautiful as
cherubim, and the dazad look OF the
men who had volunteered TO serve as
sponsors but whom the babes evi-
IDENTITY regarded as Herod's emissaries
snatching them from the arms OF their
mothers, was of itself a human inter.
est story. Then the appearance of
several convent girls in angelic white
with long white wells presented Il
striking contrast to the gorgeously
blanketed Indians who stood in the
aisIes as sponsors for little Indian
babes who cried just like the other
infants.
There We're only few adults to be
confirmed and they were almost lost
to view in the great gathering OF
white hooded and fearful eyed candi.
dates VINO looked the picture of con
triton all on account of the sudden
separation from their mammas
The Archbishop, who wore the robes
Of his office, was attended by the
Very Rev Antonio Fourchegu. vicar
general; the Rev, Joseph Pugans.
chancellor, the Rev, Jules Deraches,
the Rev, Carlos Pobst. the Rev. An.
thony Besset, pastor, and the Rev.
Julius J. Hartmann, assistant pastor
OF the Church of Our Lady of Guada-
lupe.
AS soon as the confirmation cere-
monies began, the doors of the cathe-
dral were closed and no one was ad.
mitt2d or allowed to leave
The sacrament is administered by
the bishop or archbishop amounting
the forehead of each person with oil
and saying in Latin: "Signo te signo
crucis ct cOnfirmo te chrismate salu-
tbs, in nomine PATHS, Fill ct Spiritu
Sancti," CT sign thee with the sign
Of the cross and confirm thee with
the chrism OF salvation, in the name
of the Father, and of the Son. and of
the Holy Ghost"
After amounting, priest standing
nearby wipes the oil off with little
cotton
In confirmation a new name is tax
EN- by the candidate-tha name of
some saint, and this name is kept as
the middle name These names are
written out on slips beforehand and
handed to priest who reads them in
Latin to the bishop or archbishop
and he in turn calls the person to
be confirmed by that new name. The
imposition of hands on the head of
the candidate, of course. is striking
feature of the ceremony. Then before
the candidate passes back to his seat
The bishop or archbishop gives him or
her slight blow on the cheek, sig
nifying that now that he has been
made soldier of Christ and CON
as such, he must be willing
and ready to suffer buffeting for
Christ.
The ceremonies lasted nearly two
hours. Of the 291 who We're confirm.
ed in those two hours, about 40 came
from the parish of the Church of Our
Lady of Guadalupe and the others
from the Cathedral which takes in
several suburbs.