What is the appropriate age for the Sacrament of Confirmation?
According to the official documents of the Church, the age for Confirmation and First Eucharist is the same. The Code of Canon Law states “Confirmation is to be conferred on the faithful about the age of discretion.” On August 31, 2001, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops decreed the age of conferring the sacrament of Confirmation in the United States to be between “the age of discretion (about age 7) and about 16 years of age.” What this means is that within the age parameters set forth, each local bishop may determine his own diocesan policy regarding age for Confirmation. For this reason, we see a variety of practices in place from diocese to diocese and parish to parish.
