Communion for persons with Alzheimers?

[life_is_sweet]

Are there any guidelines for providing communion to persons with Alzheimers? Our ministry is to visit an asisted living facility to provide communion to a group once a week. Many times the residents do not recognize/ remember the sacrament, even from minute to minute.
Is there guidance for this situation?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Generally speaking, it is not absolutely prohibited for someone who cannot recognize the Eucharist as Eucharist to receive it. Eastern Catholic Churches do it all the time with infants. It is the tradition in the West that we wait until someone is able to recognize the Eucharist as Eucharist, but once they begin receiving it they do have some basic rights to continue receiving it (canon 213 & 843).

If you have reason to believe that someone is a Catholic in good standing, the sacraments should not be refused them. I would avoid trying to convince someone to receive since you will want to avoid a potential choking problem or the possibility (as much as possible) that the patient would take the host out of his or her mouth.