In the
Latin Church, the
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. 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". A Latin edition of the revised
Ordo Confirmationis ("Order of Confirmation") was published in 1969. An initial English translation published shortly afterwards and a new version was published for use in England and Wales in January 2016. The
1983 Code of Canon law states (
canon 882): "The
ordinary minister of confirmation is a
bishop; a
presbyter provided with this faculty in virtue of universal law or the special grant of the competent authority also confers this sacrament
validly."
Age , Netherlands (1936) Two
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. Confirmation became a much more important rite when concerns about understanding and faith grew, in particular following the
Reformation. 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. 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. 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. 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." On the
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, 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
minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise (
canon 891 of the
Code of Canon Law). The 1983 Code prescribes the age of discretion also for the sacraments of Penance and first Holy Communion. Since the Second Vatican Council, the setting of a later age, e.g. mid-teens in the
United States, early teens in
Ireland and
Britain, has been abandoned in some places in favour of restoring the traditional order of the three sacraments of Christian initiation. 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. File:Confirmation in Mostar 2013b (cropped).jpg|Bishop anoints a young adult by using oil of chrism File:Spring2008photo b (cropped)2.jpg|The late
Bishop Elliott anointing a boy in a 2008 Confirmation service == Eastern Churches ==