Children and the Sacraments
Confirmation, Eucharist, and Penance
Archdiocese of Brisbane Sacramental Policy, May 1997

2. Children who are baptised as infants may be considered eligible for confirmation and first reception of eucharist from about the age of seven years.

Recognising the parish as the context for Christian initiation (rather than a Catholic school) lessens the link between a particular school grade and the celebration of the sacraments. This second proposition of the diocesan policy is deliberately stated in a rather flexible way.

It would be able to accommodate the occasional parent who requests confirmation and first communion for a child of five or six: where a child has been accompanying the parents to Mass and communion since infancy, such a request may not always be unreasonable. But the proposition also suggests that a time after turning seven may be more suitable for other children.

A parish program must be flexible enough to incorporate children in a variety of situations, not only children who may be older or younger than the norm, but also those who are being received into full communion from another Christian Church, those from other dioceses who may have received communion but who are not yet confirmed, and so on.

The best approach will be for a parish to issue a public invitation to those who are eligible inviting them to enroll for sacramental preparation. Certainly such an invitation will be issued through the parish school, but it will not presume that all the children in a particular class (and only those) will be included in the parish celebration of the sacraments. Timely notification should be given to parents of eligible children, and details of the parish program provided.