Are children of catechetical age to be confirmed and celebrate the Eucharist at the time of their baptism?
Yes. It is not permissible to delay their first communion and confirmation until a later time. In the dioceses of the United States it is clearly expected that when such a child is baptized, the child is to be confirmed and share in the eucharist at the same celebration, normally the Easter Vigil. (RCIA U.S. Statute 14, 18, 19; RCIA 8 and 256) While this may cause concern for consistency in religious education programs in which children baptized in infancy are not confirmed until a later age, this in itself is not a sufficient reason to postpone confirmation. The integrity and unity of the three sacraments of initiation as well as the grace conferred in their administration are maintained by not delaying confirmation or eucharist (RCIA 215; canon 866).
Related Questions
- Are children who are completing their initiation through confirmation and eucharist expected to celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation?
- How are baptized children of catechetical age received into the full communion of the Roman Catholic Church?
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