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.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 1499 

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is one of the 7 Sacraments of the Catholic Faith.   The conditions necessary for requesting the Sacrament of the Sick are as follows:

A baptized Catholic who has reached the age of reason and meets one of the following criteria:
1. is in danger from an illness,
2. is in danger from the infirmities of age,
3. will undergo surgery because of an illness,
4. has become sick again or underwent a further crisis.

The person does not have to be "in extremis" (in imminent danger of dying).

The ritual gives the following examples:
· "those who are dangerously ill through sickness or old age"
· "a sick person...before surgery whenever the surgery is necessitated by a dangerous illness"
· "elderly people...if they are weak, though not dangerously ill"
· "sick children...sufficiently mature to be comforted by the sacrament"
· "sick people who have lost consciousness or who have lost the use of reason...if ...they would have requested it if they had been in possession of their faculties"

 

If you or a loved one would like to meet with a priest to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, please call the office at: # 847-6890. We will have an on-call priest visit as soon as possible.