Can young children be confirmed?

A concerned fifth-grade teacher approaches the director of religious education: "I have a student who claims she was already confirmed, but that can't be true, can it?" After hearing the explanation that the student was most likely baptized and confirmed at the same time, the teacher reacts with a practical response: "What will she do when the others are preparing for Confirmation? This really doesn't make any sense!"

The reason it might not make sense to some people, even to some pastors, is connected to a certain understanding of Confirmation. Many Catholics still see Confirmation as a commission to be a "soldier of Christ" or as a rite of passage for adolescents. Most are surprised to learn that theologically Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist are closely connected as sacraments of initiation and were originally celebrated together. In our common American experience, however, they have been broken into three separate celebrations.

When the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) began to be implemented in the 1970s, it created a revolution in the practice, preparation, and celebration of the sacraments of initiation because it restored their ancient order. Now, according to church law, every unbaptized person over the "age of reason" is to be baptized, confirmed, and admitted to Communion at the same time, preferably at the Easter Vigil. In church language, an "infant" is a child under the age of 7; an "adult," someone with the use of reason, is over the age of 7. Preparation for infant Baptism is directed to the parent; preparation for "adults" is directed to the person who desires Baptism. So while it's uncommon for a fifth grader to be confirmed, it's altogether possible.

The official guidelines for initiation in the U.S. require children of "catechetical age" (age 7 or older) to be confirmed when they are baptized. It is possible for these sacraments to be celebrated at a time other than the Easter Vigil, especially if this would coordinate with the child's peers' celebrations of those sacraments. Some dioceses are promoting the idea of a "restored order" of initiation for children, for example, moving Confirmation for baptized children to their First Communion celebration.

Children who have already been confirmed can certainly still participate in spiritual and service aspects with their peers. They can also take part in the Confirmation liturgy as a reader or in some other capacity, perhaps even receiving a special blessing from the bishop at the celebration.

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By KAREN DIX, a religious educator in River Forest, Illinois.