View source for Confirmation in the Catholic Church

{{Short description|Sacrament in the Catholic Church}}
{{for|an overview of other Christian interpretations|Confirmation}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
[[File:Confirmation VanderWeyden.png|thumb|right|The ''[[Seven Sacraments Altarpiece]]'', by [[Rogier van der Weyden]], depicting a [[Latin Church]] bishop administering confirmation in the 14th century]]
[[File:Pietro Longhi, Confirmationis Sacramentum.png|thumb|The sacrament of confirmation by [[Pietro Longhi]]]]
'''Confirmation in the Catholic Church''' is one of the seven [[Sacraments (Catholic Church)|sacraments]].<ref>Oregon Catholic Press [https://www.ocp.org/confirmation What is Confirmation?]</ref> It is also one of the three [[sacraments of initiation]] into the [[Catholic Church]], the other two being [[Baptism]] and [[First Communion]].<ref>The Holy See. "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church", Part 2, Section 2. [https://www.vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The%20Seven%20Sacraments%20of%20the%20Church ''The Seven Sacraments of the Church'']. 2005.</ref>

==Description==
The [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] states:<blockquote>It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost ... Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3S.HTM Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1302–1303]</ref></blockquote>

The Catechism sees the account in the [[Acts of the Apostles]] {{bibleverse-nb||Acts|8:14–17}} as a scriptural basis for Confirmation as a sacrament distinct from Baptism:
<blockquote>Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P3V.HTM Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1315]</ref></blockquote>

==Latin Church==
In the [[Latin Church]], the [[Sacraments of the Catholic Church|sacrament]] is to be conferred on the faithful above the age of discretion (generally taken to be about 7), unless the [[Episcopal Conference]] has decided on a different age, or there is danger of death or, in the judgment of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise.<ref>[http://www.deacons.net/Canon_Law/book_4.htm canon 891 of the Code of Canon Law] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718135812/http://www.deacons.net/Canon_Law/book_4.htm |date=18 July 2006 }} canon 891</ref>

A revision to the service of confirmation was directed by the [[Second Vatican Council]], so that "the intimate connection which this sacrament has with the whole of Christian initiation [could be] more clearly set forth".<ref name=sc>Second Vatican Council, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html ''Sacrosanctum Concilium''], paragraph 71, published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 9 July 2025</ref>

The [[1983 Code of Canon law|1983 ''Code of Canon law'']] states ([[Canon (canon law)|canon]] 882): "The [[Ordinary (church officer)|ordinary]] [[Minister (Catholic Church)|minister]] of confirmation is a [[Bishops in the Catholic Church|bishop]]; a [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|presbyter]] provided with this faculty in virtue of universal law or the special grant of the competent authority also confers this sacrament [[Validity and liceity (Catholic Church)|validly]]."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 879-958)|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann879-958_en.html#TITLE_II.|access-date=2022-01-24|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

=== Age ===
[[File:Bewijs vernieuwing der doopbeloften.jpg|thumb|Certificate of confirmation of faith of 12-year old Gerardina Vleugels in [[Reijmerstok]], Netherlands (1936)]]
Two [[Synods of Westminster|synods]] held in [[England]] during the thirteenth century differed over whether confirmation had to be administered within one year after birth, or within three years.<ref>''Councils and Synods with other Documents relating to the English Church: II. Part 1 (1205–1265), Part II (1265–1313)''; edited by F.M. Powicke and C.R. Cheny (Oxford, 1964)</ref> Confirmation became a much more important rite when concerns about understanding and faith grew, in particular following the [[Reformation]].<ref>Brewer, Holly. [http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=833 By Birth or Consent: Children, Law, & the Anglo-American Revolution in Authority] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711010512/http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=833 |date=11 July 2011 }}; Univ. of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, 2005); pp 65-68; accessed 16 January 2011.</ref>
After the [[Fourth Lateran Council]], Communion, which continued to be given only after Confirmation, was to be administered only on reaching the age of reason. Some time after the 13th century, the age of Confirmation and Communion began to be delayed further, from seven, to twelve and to fifteen.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=21K7EEXAivMC&pg=PA91 Kay Lynn Isca, ''Catholic Etiquette'']{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Our Sunday Visitor 1997 {{ISBN|0-87973-590-2}}), p. 91</ref> The 1917 Code of Canon Law, while recommending that Confirmation be delayed until about seven years of age, allowed it be given at an earlier age.<ref>[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0813/_P2G.HTM canon 788] of the 1917 Code of Canon Law</ref> Only on 30 June 1932 was official permission given to change the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation: the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments then allowed, where necessary, that Confirmation be administered ''after'' [[first Holy Communion]]. This novelty, originally seen as exceptional, became more and more the accepted practice. Thus, in the mid-20th century, Confirmation began to be seen as an occasion for professing personal commitment to the faith on the part of someone approaching adulthood.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Minnerath|first=Roland|title=Reflection on Sacramentum Caritatis {{!}} EWTN|url=https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/reflection-on-sacramentum-caritatis-3122|access-date=2022-01-24|website=EWTN Global Catholic Television Network|language=en}}</ref>

However, the ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'', §1308, warns: "Although Confirmation is sometimes called the 'sacrament of Christian maturity,' we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that the baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need 'ratification' to become effective."<ref>[http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2.htm ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', 1308]</ref>

On the [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canonical]] age for confirmation in the [[Latin Church]] of the Catholic Church, the present (1983) ''Code of Canon Law'', which maintains unaltered the rule in the [[1917 Code of Canon Law|1917 Code]], specifies that the sacrament is to be conferred on the faithful at about 7-18, unless the [[episcopal conference]] has decided on a different age, or there is a danger of death or, in the judgement of the [[Catholic minister|minister]], a grave reason suggests otherwise ([[Canon (canon law)|canon]] 891 of the ''Code of Canon Law''). The 1983 Code prescribes the age of discretion also for the sacraments of Penance<ref>[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3G.HTM canon 989]</ref> and first Holy Communion.<ref>[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P38.HTM canons 913–914]</ref>

Since the Second Vatican Council, the setting of a later age, e.g. mid-teens in the [[United States]], early teens in [[Ireland]] and [[United Kingdom|Britain]], has been abandoned in some places in favour of restoring the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/BISHOPS/ordsacinit.htm The Restored Order of Sacraments of Initiation Diocese of Phoenix] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802010215/http://www.ewtn.com/library/bishops/ordsacinit.htm |date=2 August 2018 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24839 Confirmation before communion, Liverpool decides] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411202541/http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=24839 |date=11 April 2013 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.interchurchfamilies.org/journal/firs_com.shtm Interchurch Families] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003045214/http://www.interchurchfamilies.org/journal/firs_com.shtm |date=3 October 2011 }}</ref> Even in those countries where the [[episcopal conference]] has set a later age as normal, a bishop may not refuse to confer the sacrament on younger children who request it, provided they are baptized, have the use of reason, are suitably instructed and are properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises.<ref>{{Cite journal|year=1999|title=LITTERAE CONGREGATIONIS|url=http://notitiae.ipsissima-verba.org/show/220|journal=[[Notitiae]]|volume=35|pages=537–540}}</ref>

== Eastern Churches ==
[[File:Confirmation in Mostar 2013b.jpg|250px|thumbnail|Bishop anoints a young adult by using [[Chrism|oil of chrism]]]]
The [[Chrismation]] with holy [[Chrism|Myron]] is what confirmation is called in [[Eastern Catholic Churches]]. The [[Canon (canon law)|canons]] concerning this practice are the can. 692-697 of the ''[[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]]''. In Eastern Catholicism, [[Priesthood in the Catholic Church|priests]] are those who normally administer the Chrismation with holy Myron, and this sacrament can be administered conjointly with [[baptism]]. Contrarily to the situation in the [[Latin Church]], in Eastern Catholicism the sacrament does not require the anointing to be made by the imposition of the hand.<ref name="Instruction1996">{{cite book|author=[[Congregation for the Eastern Churches]]|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/orientchurch/Istruzione/pdf/istruzione_inglese.pdf|title=Instruction for applying the liturgical prescriptions of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches|publisher=Libreria Editrice Vaticana|year=1996|isbn=978-88-209-2232-0|location=Vatican City|pages=43–44}}</ref>

==Imagery==
The "[[soldier of Christ]]" imagery, which remains valid<ref>[http://www.dioceseofbmt.org/Documents/PrepConfirmation.htm Confirmation Preparation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404070450/http://www.dioceseofbmt.org/Documents/PrepConfirmation.htm |date=4 April 2006}}</ref> but is downplayed if seen as part of the once common idea of Confirmation as a "sacrament of maturity",<ref>[http://www.eriercd.org/theology05.asp link not working] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419190549/http://www.eriercd.org/theology05.asp |date=19 April 2006 }}</ref> was used as far back as 350 by [[Cyril of Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CATECHSM/CONFIRM1.HTM SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION (WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?)]</ref> In this connection, the touch on the cheek that the bishop gave while saying "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you) to the person he had just confirmed was interpreted in the Roman Pontifical as a slap, a reminder to be brave in spreading and defending the faith: "Deinde leviter eum in maxilla caedit, dicens: Pax tecum" (Then he strikes him lightly on the cheek, saying: Peace be with you) (cf. the knightly custom of the [[accolade]]). When, in application of the Second Vatican Council's ''[[Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy]]'',<ref name=sc /> the Confirmation rite was revised in 1971, mention of this gesture was omitted. However, the French and Italian translations, which indicate that the bishop should accompany the words "Peace be with you" with "a friendly gesture" (French text) or "the [[Holy kiss#Catholicism|sign of peace]]" (Italian text),{{cn|date=July 2025}} explicitly allow a gesture such as the touch on the cheek, to which they restore its original meaning. This is in accord with the ''Introduction to the Rite of Confirmation'',<ref>Introduction to the Rite of Confirmation, 17</ref> which indicates that an episcopal conference may decide "to introduce a different manner for the minister to give the sign of peace after the anointing, either to each individual or to all the newly confirmed together."

== See also ==
{{Portal|Catholicism}}
* [[Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit]]
* [[Rite of passage]]

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|chapter=[[s:The catechism of the Council of Trent/Part 2: Confirmation|Part 2: Confirmation]]|title=The catechism of the Council of Trent|year=1829|publisher=Lucas Brothers|translator=James Donovan|author=Council of Trent}}
*{{Cite Catholic Encyclopedia |wstitle=Confirmation |volume=4 |first=Thomas Bartholomew  |last=Scannell}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Summa Theologiae/Third Part/Question 72|Thomas Aquinas on Confirmation}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120425013957/http://catechumen.org.uk/confirmation/ The Rite of Confirmation Resource Site]
* [https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM ''Catechism of the Catholic Church''], Part 2, Section 2, Chapter 1, Article 2, Paragraphs 1285–1321. "The Sacrament of Confirmation".

{{Seven Sacraments}}
{{Catholicism}}

[[Category:Catholic liturgy]]
[[Category:Sacraments of the Catholic Church]]