What are the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church?
In short: The Catholic Church has seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Each is an outward sign instituted by Christ that confers the grace it signifies.
A sacrament is not merely a religious ritual or a symbol — it is an effective sign: it truly brings about what it represents. The Catholic Church teaches that the seven sacraments were all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, who entrusted them to the Church to be celebrated until his return. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, there are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony (CCC 1210). Together they touch every major moment of the Christian life, from birth to death.
The first three sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist — are called the sacraments of Christian initiation because they lay the foundations of every Christian life (CCC 1212). Baptism is the beginning: it frees a person from sin, makes them a child of God, and incorporates them into the Church (CCC 1213). Confirmation deepens what Baptism began, sealing the baptized with the gift of the Holy Spirit and binding them more perfectly to the Church for the mission of Christian witness (CCC 1285). The Eucharist is the culmination: at the Last Supper, Christ gave the Church a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us (CCC 1323). It is, the Church teaches, the source and summit of the Christian life (CCC 1324).
The next two sacraments are the sacraments of healing, because they address the wounds of sin and illness that afflict us after Baptism. Penance (also called Reconciliation or Confession) is the means by which the baptized who have fallen into serious sin may be restored to friendship with God and the Church. Through the priest's absolution, those who approach the sacrament obtain pardon from God's mercy and are reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins (CCC 1422). Anointing of the Sick is not reserved only for those at the point of death; rather, by the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them (CCC 1499). It brings spiritual strength, the forgiveness of sins, and sometimes physical healing when this is God's will.
The final two sacraments are the sacraments at the service of communion and mission — they are directed outward, toward building up the Body of Christ. Holy Orders ordains men as bishops, priests, or deacons, configuring them to Christ the Head so they can preach, celebrate the sacraments, and shepherd God's people. Matrimony joins a baptized man and woman in a permanent, faithful, and life-giving covenant that images the love of Christ for his Church (Ephesians 5:25-32). Both of these sacraments involve a personal vocation and a call to self-giving love in service of others.
It is worth noting why there are seven — neither more nor fewer. The Church does not claim to have invented the sacraments; she received them from Christ, who is their primary author. Seven is not an arbitrary number: the seven sacraments together cover the whole arc of human life and need. As the Catechism observes, the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian's life of faith, and there is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life (CCC 1210). In this way, Christ meets his people at every turning point — at birth, at coming of age, at the table, in sin, in sickness, in vocation, and in marriage — and offers his grace.
If you are curious to experience the sacraments firsthand, the most accessible starting point is the Sunday Mass, where Catholics gather around Word and Eucharist every week. You are welcome to attend. If you would like to explore the faith more deeply or are considering becoming Catholic, ask a local parish about the OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) process. You can find a Catholic Mass near you, check local confession times, or learn more about the saints who received and lived these same sacraments before us.
What the Catechism says
Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian's life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.
The sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life.
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: 'Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.'
Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the 'sacraments of Christian initiation,' whose unity must be safeguarded.
At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'
The Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life.' 'The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.'
Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion.
By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ.
In Sacred Scripture
- Matthew 28:19 — Christ commands the disciples to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, establishing Baptism as the gateway sacrament.
- John 6:53-55 — Christ teaches that eating his flesh and drinking his blood is necessary for eternal life, grounding the Eucharist in his own words.
- John 20:22-23 — The Risen Christ breathes the Holy Spirit on the disciples and grants them authority to forgive or retain sins, the scriptural basis for the sacrament of Penance.
- James 5:14-15 — James instructs the elders to anoint and pray over the sick, the apostolic witness the Church cites for the Anointing of the Sick.
- Ephesians 5:25-32 — Paul describes marriage as an image of Christ's love for the Church, the theological foundation for Matrimony as a sacrament.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all Christians have seven sacraments?
No. The seven sacraments are recognized in their fullness by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches (and some Anglican and Lutheran traditions hold a similar view). Most Protestant communities observe only Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Communion) as sacraments in the full sense, largely because they limit sacraments to rites explicitly commanded in the New Testament with a visible sign. The Catholic Church holds that Christ instituted all seven, some through actions and words recorded in Scripture and others through the consistent practice and faith handed on by the apostles.
Can a person receive all seven sacraments?
Many Catholics receive five over the course of their lives: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, and (in time of serious illness) the Anointing of the Sick. Holy Orders and Matrimony are sacraments of vocation, and ordinarily a person receives one or the other rather than both: in the Latin Rite, those ordained to the priesthood are normally chosen from men committed to celibacy, and Holy Orders is received only by men called to ordained ministry. Permanent deacons, who also receive Holy Orders, may be married men.
What is the difference between a sacrament and a sacramental?
A sacrament (one of the seven) was instituted by Christ himself and confers grace by the action of the sacrament itself when it is received with the proper disposition. A sacramental — such as blessed water, a rosary, or the Sign of the Cross — is a sacred sign instituted by the Church that bears a resemblance to the sacraments; it disposes a person to receive grace and renders various occasions of life holy, but it does not confer grace in the same way a sacrament does (CCC 1667-1668).