Dojrzałość religijna kandydatów do bierzmowania. Teoretyczna i empiryczna refleksja nad miejscem sakramentu bierzmowania w życiu Kościoła

The article deals with the place and role of the sacrament of Confirmation in the pastoral mission of the Church. In the theoretical part it presents current teaching of the Church concerning the Confirmation in dogmatic, legal, catechetical and confessional aspects. It also analyzes the meaning of Confirmation as well as the way of preparing to it. In the research part it presents the results of research conducted among middle school students. On the basis of this research it describes religious maturity of today's candidates for Confirmation and formulates pastoral guidelines related to both preparation and administering this sacrament.