Essential Rite of Confirmation

Confirmation is the sacrament that completes baptism; in it the gift of the Holy Spirit is bestowed upon us. In Confirmation the soul of a baptized Christian is imprinted with a permanent seal that can be received only once and marks this individual forever as Christian.

Any Catholic Christian who has received the sacrament of Baptism and is in a state of grace can be admitted to Confirmation. The sacrament of Confirmation is normally administered by the Bishop. When necessary, the bishop can also delegate a priest to do it. In danger of death, any priest can administer Confirmation. The essential rite of Confirmation is the anointing with sacred chrism, which is done by laying on of the hands of the minister who pronounces the sacramental words proper to the rite. In the west this anointing is done on the forehead of the baptized with the words, "Be sealed with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit." In the eastern churches of the Byzantine rite this anointing is also done on other parts of the body with the words, "The seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit."