Ordinary or extraordinary Minister of Confirmation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Theology_Nerd
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Theology_Nerd

Guest
Curious high school juniors want to know! 🙂

The bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation. He can delegate his authority to a priest, who would then be the extraordinary minister.

QUESTION: When our retired Bishop administers confirmation, is he technically the ordinary or extraordinary minister of confirmation?

I can’t find anything treating this situation.

Thanks!!
 
Theology_Nerd said:
…
The bishop is the ordinary minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation. He can delegate his authority to a priest, who would then be the extraordinary minister.

QUESTION: When our retired Bishop administers confirmation, is he technically the ordinary or extraordinary minister of confirmation? …
Click to expand...
Hello,

I think the first statement you make here is the answer. It is not the “diocesan bishop” or an “active” bishop who is the ordinary minister–the ordinary minister of confirmation is a bishop (see canon 882 of the Code of Canon Law). So, the retired bishop is an ordinary minister just as any active bishop is.

If you want to be precise, the bishop does not “delegate his authority” to a priest. In certain circumstances, he can grant the faculty to confirm to a priest. The power of holy orders enables a priest to confirm. This is clear in the Eastern Churches where priests routinely administer confirmation with no need for a faculty. In the Latin/Western Church, the law restricts the exercise of that power to confirm by requiring priests to have a faculty. In other words, all priests have the authority/ability to confirm. But, in the Latin Church, they can only use that authority when they also have the faculty.

Dan
 
As Dan noted, a bishop (any bishop) an ordinary minister of the Sacrament

A good analogy would be if your parish had a visiting priest celebrate Mass. He would still be an Ordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
 
THANKS, Brendan!! That is a perfect analogy…it will really help! God bless!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top