Proper Order of Sacraments

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Does anyone have a link to an authoritative statement by the Church as to the proper order of the Sacraments ie

First - Baptism

Second - First Reconciliation / First Confession

Third - Confirmation (varies it seems)

Fourth - First Holy Communion

There are lots of website describing the Sacraments but none of them say what the proper order for their administration is. I have a friend who is a religious education teacher who has a parent at his school who wants their child to make their First Holy Communion but the child has never had her First Reconciliation. Very frustrating.
 
This is the order for reception of the sacraments. It wouldn’t be logical for someone to receive Holy Communion for the first time without going to Confession. 👍
 
Through most of Church history, and still in the East and for adult converts in the West, Confirmation comes before First Communion. Giving First Communion before a child is confirmed is a break with what is otherwise the normal order, done for practical pastoral reasons.
 
In all but the Roman Church, I believe the correct order is;

    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Eucharist
    • (These first three are usually done in infancy if the child is born into the Church)
    • reconciliation
 
But is there an official Church document saying “this is the order of sacraments: 1, 2, 3, 4” etc.
 
KnightIHSV said:
But is there an official Church document saying “this is the order of sacraments: 1, 2, 3, 4” etc.
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I don’t think there is an official order.

Some people receive Baptism and Confirmation at birth and receive their First Communion a little later. They are asked to go to confession before receiving the Blessed Sacrament for the first time.

Some people get them all at once when they are babies or adults and the order is Baptism, Confirmation, First Communion; and later on when needed, Reconciliation.

Some people receive Baptism when their babies, Reconciliation in early elementary, followed shortly after by First Communion, then Confirmation as teenagers/adults.

Some people who have been baptized will be asked to go to confession before receiving Confirmation then First Communion.

As far as I can tell Baptism has to come first, but the rest are determined by the local diocese.
 
KnightIHSV said:
Does anyone have a link to an authoritative statement by the Church as to the proper order of the Sacraments ie

First - Baptism

Second - First Reconciliation / First Confession

Third - Confirmation (varies it seems)

Fourth - First Holy Communion

There are lots of website describing the Sacraments but none of them say what the proper order for their administration is. I have a friend who is a religious education teacher who has a parent at his school who wants their child to make their First Holy Communion but the child has never had her First Reconciliation. Very frustrating.
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Any list would have to address the circumstances. There are just too many of them to make a uniform list. In any case Baptism is going to be first.

If we narrow things down to the Roman Church only there are still multiple scenarios that have to be taken into account:

Case 1: A child who is baptized or received into the Church in infancy.
Case 2: A baptized non-Catholic who is received into the Church after reaching the age of reason but prior to making First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation.
Case 3: An unbaptized person who is received into the Church after reaching the age of reason.
Case 4: A baptized non-Catholic who is received into the Church after the usual age for First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation.

Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist are considered the Sacraments of Initiation. That works for those who are in the Eastern Traditions or those who are baptized after reaching the age of reason.

Things get more complicated when previously baptized Christians are received into the Church or if children are baptized Catholic as infants. In that case it varies as to where to put Confirmation but I am fairly certain there is a directive that says Reconciliation needs to come before First Eucharist. Perhaps someone has a link for that.
 
holyfamily1 said:
This is the order for reception of the sacraments. It wouldn’t be logical for someone to receive Holy Communion for the first time without going to Confession. 👍
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Not only is it absolutely logical; it happens every Holy Saturday night around the world.

Adults and children over the minimum age to receive Communion (so we are not talking here about infants), who are baptized on Holy Saturday night receive the three Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, then Confirmation, then Communion during the same Mass. They do not go to confession, as Baptism remits all sin. Children in this service may delay Confirmation to a later time; but they do not go out after the baptism and go to Reconciliation. The receive along with the adults.

If, however, one was talking about infant baptism in the Roman rite, then the rules are that they receive their first Communion at about the age of seven, and are required to go to Reconciliation before Communion. And later, somewhere between the age of 12 and 16 (usually) they receive Confirmation.
 
diocesephoenix.org/uploads/docs/SacramentsInitQAEnglish2005.pdf

Here’s a link from the Diocese of Phoenix about “The Restored Order of Sacraments of Initiation.” The Diocese of Phoenix requires children to receive Confirmation before their First Eucharist. Also, in Mexico there are many places that still confirm people before they receive their First Eucharist. There were a few adults at my church this last Easter Vigil that had already received Baptism and Confirmation, but were receiving the Blessed Sacrament for the first time.
 
KnightIHSV said:
Does anyone have a link to an authoritative statement by the Church as to the proper order of the Sacraments ie

First - Baptism

Second - First Reconciliation / First Confession

Third - Confirmation (varies it seems)

Fourth - First Holy Communion

There are lots of website describing the Sacraments but none of them say what the proper order for their administration is. I have a friend who is a religious education teacher who has a parent at his school who wants their child to make their First Holy Communion but the child has never had her First Reconciliation. Very frustrating.
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Assuming the child was baptised as an infant and this scenario suggests this, the order would be baptism (as an infant), first confession, first communion and then confirmation. There are many examples of children receiving first communion prior to first confession. I believe that Rome has re-iterated on a number of occasions that confession must come first.
 
Bergon said:
Assuming the child was baptised as an infant and this scenario suggests this, the order would be baptism (as an infant), first confession, first communion and then confirmation. There are many examples of children receiving first communion prior to first confession. I believe that Rome has re-iterated on a number of occasions that confession must come first.
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Yes precisely. But unfortunately I cannot find where Rome has said this and reiterated it! It seems logical yet no one seems to have said it.
 
Depending on what country you are in, Confirmation age can vary. The U.S. was granted special permission to Confirm young Catholics between the age of reason and “about” 16. We are talking about Catholic youth, not those entering the Church. So, the age in the US for Confirmation varies from diocese to diocese.
Where you may want to look is canon law.
canonlaw.info/a_preparingchildren.htm
It was encouraging when one Bishop was speaking to then Pope Benedict about restoring the sacraments to traditional order in his diocese, he was encouraged to talk with his brother bishops about doing the same. Also, this one Bishop realized his understanding of the sacrament of confirmation was faulty and full of errors.
 
KnightIHSV said:
Yes precisely. But unfortunately I cannot find where Rome has said this and reiterated it! It seems logical yet no one seems to have said it.
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Redemptionis Sacramentum
[87.] The First Communion of children must always be preceded by sacramental confession and absolution. Moreover First Communion should always be administered by a Priest and never outside the celebration of Mass.
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Brendan said:
Redemptionis Sacramentum
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Of course, this is only the case in the Western (Latin) church. In the Eastern Churches, such as the Byzantine Church, babies as young as a few weeks may validly and licitly receive Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist all on the same day, and in that order.
 
If you look at Canon Law and The Catechism of the Catholic Church you will note that the Sacraments of Initiation are listed in this order:
  1. Baptism
  2. Confirmation - which completes Baptism
  3. Communion
The practice of Communion before Baptism in the Latin Rite only dates back to 1910, when Pope Pius X decreed that Children could receive around the age of 7. Most bishops didn’t follow by lowering the age for Confirmation. But in many places Confirmation followed the next time the Bishop came to town. I was 6 when I made my First Communion and my class was Confirmed the next year. In othe countries Confirmation remained before Communion. My former pastor, from the Philippines, was confirmed at the age of 5, about two years before he made is First Communion.

Even in the Latin Rite, if it is possible, Confirmation – but not Communion – is to be administered to an infant baptized in danger of death.
 
KnightIHSV said:
But is there an official Church document saying “this is the order of sacraments: 1, 2, 3, 4” etc.
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No.

No such document exists.

As others have already explained, Baptism must come first. There’s no question about that.

After Baptism, the order of the rest of the sacraments can and will vary.

For those Baptised as infants, Confession must always precede First Communion and/or Confirmation.

Those who are baptised as adults usually are Confirmed and receive Communion immediately thereafter.

After that, we have to look at each sacrament individually and each person’s circumstances.

Confirmation must be done before Ordination and (generally) before marriage—but even here, lack of confirmation doesn’t invalidate an attempt at marriage.

Anointing of the Sick can be done anytime after the age of reason—and again, there are all kinds of different scenarios which might change the order.

Your original question was this:
Does anyone have a link to an authoritative statement by the Church as to the proper order of the Sacraments ie

Simply put, no such document or statement exists, and given the many variations, no such statement is even possible.
 
Phemie said:
If you look at Canon Law and The Catechism of the Catholic Church you will note that the Sacraments of Initiation are listed in this order:
  1. Baptism
  2. Confirmation - which completes Baptism
  3. Communion
The practice of Communion before Baptism in the Latin Rite only dates back to 1910, when Pope Pius X decreed that Children could receive around the age of 7. Most bishops didn’t follow by lowering the age for Confirmation. But in many places Confirmation followed the next time the Bishop came to town. I was 6 when I made my First Communion and my class was Confirmed the next year. In othe countries Confirmation remained before Communion. My former pastor, from the Philippines, was confirmed at the age of 5, about two years before he made is First Communion.

Even in the Latin Rite, if it is possible, Confirmation – but not Communion – is to be administered to an infant baptized in danger of death.
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Communion before Baptism? :eek:

I assume you mean Communion before Confirmation, as you then described in the rest of your post.
 
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