More US dioceses lowering age to receive Confirmation

For many Catholic teens, the Sacrament of Confirmation is perceived as a rite of passage as they grow up in the Church. However, as many dioceses across the United States lower the age at which children receive the Sacrament — most recently, in January, the Archdiocese of Baltimore lowered the age to 9 — this understanding is slowly beginning to shift.

The “norm” across U.S. dioceses in recent decades has been for young Catholics to receive this Sacrament of Initiation during adolescence — perhaps in 10th or 11th grade, or in 8th or 9th, meaning at ages 15 or 16, or 13 or 14.

Yet Canon Law does not specify the teenage years, instead stating that the sacrament should be administered “at the age of discretion.” In lay terms, this could be considered equivalent to the age of reason, as young as 7.

In fact, Confirmation used to be received at a much younger age than it is today. Currently, Confirmation is commonly received as the third Sacrament of Initiation (after Baptism and First Communion), but it was traditionally received before First Holy Communion.

In 1910, Pope Pius X declared that First Communion could be received at the age of reason (around 7). This shift led to a gradual change in the order of the sacraments, with Confirmation eventually becoming the third of the three Sacraments of Initiation. With this shift came a change in perception and even some misconceptions, as Pope Francis humorously alluded to -- referring to the idea that once a teen has received Confirmation, he's "graduated" and the time of formation in the Church is over. In some parts of the world, such as Mexico, infants are confirmed at Baptism, and in the Eastern Churches infants receive all three Sacraments of Initiation, with the Eucharist given as a drop of consecrated wine on the tongue.

The exact age or grade for Confirmation falls under the jurisdiction of each local bishop. Over the last few decades, some American bishops have moved Confirmation to an earlier age.

The Diocese of Fargo returned to what is now known as the “restored order of the sacraments” in the early 2000s as did the Diocese of Phoenix and a few others. "Restored order" refers to how it was received before First Communion in centuries past.

Bishop Thomas Olmsted, then bishop of Phoenix, believed that the restored order was more theologically consistent — Confirmation strengthens baptismal graces before the young Christian participates in the Eucharist, which is known as the “source and summit” of our faith.

A number of other American dioceses have changed the Confirmation age in the last several years. This past fall, the Archdiocese of Boston announced a plan to transition Confirmation from 10th grade to 8th. Similarly, in December, the Diocese of Baton Rouge released a plan to lower the Confirmation age to 7th grade. Back in 2019, the Archdiocese of Seattle moved the age for the Sacrament from 11th grade to 7th.

These dioceses have not returned to the “restored order,” but they have nevertheless identified reasons for moving Confirmation to a lower age.

Archbishop Lori of Baltimore wrote in January that he hopes lowering the age of Confirmation will encourage greater parental involvement in their children’s faith formation. Mary Offer, Director of Religious Education at St. Mary’s in the Diocese of Oklahoma City — which lowered the age of Confirmation to 6th grade in 2021 — stated,

Another motivating factor for some dioceses is certainly the number of young people leaving the Church. A 2017 study from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) found that the median age at which young people disaffiliate from the Church is now only 13 years old. There is hope that both the grace of the sacrament and the formation received before disaffiliation will strengthen the faith of this generation.

Offer affirms this idea, stating that at her parish,

While the age of the Confirmandi differs from diocese to diocese, these changes seem to echo the words of Pope Francis during a papal audience this past October:

The Holy Father reminds us of the power of the sacrament, stating:

Will this change in the age of Confirmation lead to a renewal of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and result in more young people remaining Catholic? That remains to be seen. What is clear is that in the Church in the United States, what began with a few dioceses changing the age has become a trend. The emphasis on Confirmation reminds us of its importance. As the Pope said last fall,