Q: Could I get a clarification on a confirmation name.
Does the person the candidate picks have to be a Saint or can it be a person who has been beatified. The family would like to use the name Alberto Marveli. Your advice is greatly appreciated.
A: There are absolutely no universal laws governing confirmation names. The Order of Confirmation actually presumes that the bishop will use the candidate’s own name. Confirmation names are customary in some countries, but not universally. If a person wishes to use a confirmation name, I think it makes sense to follow what canon 855 says about the baptismal name: “a name foreign to Christian sensibility is not given.” Certainly the name of a person beatified is not foreign to Christian sensibility.