Twenty-seven young people and adults from the parishes of Imaculado Coração de Maria and Livramento received the Sacrament of Confirmation in a celebration at Livramento church. The ceremony was presided over by Canon Marcos Gonçalves, vicar-general of the Diocese of Funchal.
The fact that the celebration was not presided over by the Bishop of Funchal, D. Nuno Brás, raised the question of whether a priest can administer Confirmation. According to the Code of Canon Law, the bishop is the ordinary minister, but can delegate this faculty to priests in case of need.
Canon Marcos Gonçalves, as the bishop's representative in diocesan governance, may have received such a delegation. The Church emphasizes the sacrament's connection to the episcopal ministry, even when administered by a priest, using oil consecrated by the bishop.
During the ceremony, the vicar-general encouraged the newly confirmed to be "builders of peace," stressing that Confirmation represents a mission rather than an end to Christian life.
