Rev. Phillip Dufour, Dennis Sousa, Melissa Roberts

Confirmation: Forming a Generation of Lifelong Disciples 

How do we prepare today's confirmandi to receive and live out the Sacrament of Confirmation? Pew research has shown that 80% of young people leave the Catholic Church within ten years of receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. This session will offer practical and proven tools to form young people to embrace the fullness of our Catholic Faith and fulfill the mission of the Gospel by presenting a unified parish vision for the preparation of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Fr. Phillip Dufour entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence in 2010 and graduated from Providence College in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Tha same year he was assigned to theological studies at the Ponitifical North American College in Rome and finished his studies with a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from the Ponitifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, specializing in Spiritual Theology. Father has been the Assistant Pastor at Saint Philip Parish in Greenville since July 2019. 

Dennis Sousa has been the Director of Religious Education and Faith Formation for the past ten years at Saint Philip Church. He has a master's degree in Theology from Providence College and is currently working on an additional master's degree in Catechesis and Evangelization at Fransiscan University of Steubeniville. Dennis has been married for nineteen years to his wife Jennifer and they have one daughter, Grace, who is seventeen years old. 

Melissa Roberts, wife and mother of five, has held the position of Coordinator of Youth Ministry for Saint Philip Parish for the past nine years. She is humbled every day to have the opportunity to lead young people to Christ through His Church. She endlessly seeks the guidance of the Holy Spirit in providing effective catechesis to form life-long disciples of Christ.