Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we gather today at a sacred and historic moment for the Church. The conclave has begun. The doors have closed, the prayers have intensified, and in the Sistine Chapel, the College of Cardinals now waits upon the Holy Spirit. Their task is weighty: to discern and elect the next Supreme Pontiff—one who will guide the Church in fidelity, courage, and hope in a world yearning for truth and love.

At the same time, in this very celebration, we welcome a different, but no less powerful, outpouring of the Holy Spirit: the sacrament of confirmation. You, our candidates for confirmation, are about to be sealed with the same Spirit Whom the Cardinals invoked this morning with longing and reverence as they entered the Sistine Chapel in conclave. What a profound moment of unity across the Body of Christ! Though your mission is not to enter a conclave, it is to step into the mission of the Church. That mission is nothing less than to proclaim the Gospel with your life.

The Prophet Isaiah reminds us: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted.”

This was fulfilled in Christ and now it is fulfilled in you. The Holy Spirit you are about to receive comes with a purpose: not merely to strengthen you personally but to send you. The Spirit anoints not for comfort but for mission.

And what does that mission look like?

St. Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth.”

The same Spirit Who empowered the Apostles to proclaim Christ to the nations is poured into your hearts today. The same Spirit Who hovered over the waters at creation, Who descended on Mary at the Annunciation, Who raised Jesus from the dead, Who filled Peter with courage on Pentecost is this same Spirit now fills you.

This same Spirit now fills the Sistine Chapel.

We pray today for our cardinal electors. They have entered into silence and prayer. They are not looking merely for a manager, a celebrity, a shrewd diplomat, or a brilliant scholar. They are asking: “Who among us has the heart of a shepherd? Who is the one the Holy Spirit is calling forth to fill the shoes of Peter the fisherman among us?”

And we dare to pray with great faith: “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Come, Holy Spirit, and give us a pope who will speak with evangelical boldness convinced by the Resurrection of Christ; a pope who will help us rediscover the amazement of being Christian in spite of its challenges in today’s world; a pope who will inspire a new generation not merely to go to church but to be the Church – Christ’s Body and the people of God present in the world who live decisively a new way with a new hope and promise.

But let us not stop there.

Because this outpouring of the Spirit is not for the pope alone. It is not for cardinal electors only. It is for you, beloved candidates for confirmation. It is for all of us.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John today: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit... will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”

You don’t walk alone. The Spirit will remind you of what Jesus taught, especially in the confusing or difficult moments of life. He will help you make courageous choices, just as the cardinals must now do. He will give you gifts—wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord—because your life matters in the great mission of the Church.

You may not wear white or stand at a window in St. Peter’s Square, but you will be a light in your school, a sign of faith in your family, a tower of hope among your friends. Your mission begins today. The Church needs you.

So, we pray together:

“Come, Holy Spirit. Come with fire to the Sistine Chapel and set the hearts of our cardinal electors ablaze. Come with power to this altar and seal these young hearts with Your gifts.
Come with peace to Your Church and awaken in all of us the courage to live amazed by the Gospel. Come, Holy Spirit, and renew the face of the earth. Amen.