This spring, thousands of young people will receive the sacrament of confirmation in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

But do they — or Catholics who have received the sacrament — understand the magnitude of the sacrament?

On this week’s episode of “Practicing Catholic” radio show with producer Patrick Conley, Archbishop Bernard Hebda explains confirmation and relates his own experience of the sacrament.

Confirmation is one of three sacraments of initiation, which bring people into the fullness of the Catholic faith. Confirmation is closely intertwined with baptism and first Communion, the other two sacraments of initiation, the archbishop said, since it builds upon those graces.

“Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace, so it’s really building on what’s received at the sacrament of baptism,” the archbishop said. “The Catholic who is confirmed is more perfectly bound to the Church and enriched through that sacrament of confirmation with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.”

It is not accurate, however, to say that confirmation is the only time that the Holy Spirit is received, Archbishop Hebda said.

“Some people will say (confirmation) is when we receive the Holy Spirit. But … the Holy Spirit is very much present (in baptism),” he said. “As a result of that strengthening (of the Holy Spirit), then they’re able to be true witnesses of Christ, and they’re more strictly obligated to spread and defend the faith by word.”

Archbishop Hebda said that he was confirmed with 250 other kids in his parish when he was in sixth grade. It seemed in his parish at least one student would faint every year, he said, under the pressure of the bishop’s catechetical questions and the density of people packed into the church.

To hear Archbishop Hebda teach about the sacrament of confirmation and to find out who his confirmation patron saint is, tune into “Practicing Catholic” when it airs at 9 p.m. March 29 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or when it repeats at 1 p.m. March 30 and 2 p.m. March 31.

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes a discussion with Mahalia Marcelin, director of discipleship at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Paul, about ways to accompany catechumens and candidates entering the Church at Easter. Also, George Weigel discusses his friendship with St. John Paul II and his April 17 lecture at the St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul.

Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.