Question: My eleven-year-old daughter wishes to be confirmed. My husband and I believe that she fully understands the sacrament. Our pastor said that she will have to wait until she is in high school. What is the age of Confirmation in the United States and what are our rights in this matter?  

Answer: On August 21, 2001, the nation’s bishops decreed that the age for conferring the sacrament of confirmation in the U.S. Latin-rite dioceses is between “the age of discretion (considered to be about age 7) and about 16 years of age”. Within that range, each bishop can set a more specific policy in his own diocese. The Holy See’s Congregation for Bishops gave its recognition of the U.S. bishops’ action on May 9, 2002. The U.S. norm took effect July 1, 2002. The 1983 Code of Canon Law § 891 says confirmation “is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion unless the conference of bishops has determined another age, or there is danger of death, or in the judgment of the minister a grave cause suggests otherwise.” On December 18, 1999, The Congregation for Divine Worship issued the following statement concerning a similar case: “The Code of Canon Law legislates that Sacred Ministers may not deny the Sacraments to those who opportunely ask for them, are properly disposed and are not prohibited by law from receiving them (cf. can. 843 §1). Since it has been demonstrated that the girl possesses these requisite qualities, any other considerations, even those contained in the Diocesan Policy, need to be understood in subordination to the general norms governing the reception of the Sacraments.“ The Congregation considers it useful to point out that it is the role of the parents as the primary educators of their children and then of the Sacred Pastors to see that candidates for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation are properly instructed to receive the Sacrament and come to it at the opportune time (cf. can. 890). Consequently, when a member of the faithful wishes to receive this Sacrament, even though not satisfying one or more elements of the local legislation (e.g., being younger than the designated age for administration of the Sacrament), those elements must give way to the fundamental right of the faithful to receive the Sacraments. Indeed, the longer the conferral of the Sacrament is delayed after the age of reason, the greater will be the number of candidates who are prepared for its reception but are deprived of its grace for a considerable period of time.”