Introduction
The age of a confirmation candidate varies considerably from house to house. In some circumstances First Communion precedes confirmation; in others it follows. Bishops, pastors, and catechists set policies for age and sequence based on their understanding of the significance of these Catholic sacraments. Parents often wonder why the policies change.

Those who set sacramental policies generally turn to the Church's history to support their decisions. But historical summaries often overlook the nuances in shifting patterns of tradition. Consequently, some decisions are made on incomplete information.

This history documents the age of candidates for baptism, confirmation, and the first reception of Communion in the Catholic Church, and the sequence in which a person received these sacraments. It tracks the circumstances which caused patterns to form and shift. Its purpose is to enlighten those who form sacramental policies as well as those who live by them.

Today many circumstances affect the age and sequence for baptism, confirmation, and First Communion. Catechumens, who range in age from schoolchildren to seniors, celebrate baptism, then confirmation, and then Eucharist in the same ceremony. But children born of Catholic parents may be baptized as infants and celebrate confirmation and Eucharist in different ceremonies over a period of eighteen years or more; in many cases their confirmation follows the first reception of Communion. Still, the Church today calls these three rites "sacraments of initiation."

The phrase poses problems since it was popularized only in the last century due to work in the field of anthropology. Human beings have always incorporated rites of initiation into their societies, as evidenced by ancient cultures like Egypt and Greece, contemporary tribal ritual, and in groups as commonplace as scouting and benevolent associations. To join a group, one participates in some ritual. But societies have not always termed these rituals "initiation rites."

Nor is it clear to which rites the phrase applies. At its simplest level it refers to those rites by which a person joins a particular body. However, some apply the phrase by analogy to rites which accompany advancement from one stage to another within the same body.

Consequently, even though baptism, confirmation, and First Communion are termed "sacraments of initiation" today, the terminology is new whereas the rites are old. Furthermore, in the past the Western church did not always consistently recognize confirmation and First Communion as initiation rites, and the age, occasion, and sequence of their reception varied considerably. At first, when new members were primarily converts from non-Christian communities, a single celebration of these ceremonies concluded their catechetical formation. Later, when new members were primarily infants born within the stabilized Christian assembly, the rites of initiation diffused into distinct ceremonies celebrated over a span of years in one's life. Ecclesial, pastoral, doctrinal, and catechetical reasons caused the changes in the recipient's age. Moreover, once confirmation and the first reception of Communion became detached from their original context, their sequence depended on external considerations more than on their internal meaning.

Today, more than any other time in history, opinions abound about the appropriate age of candidates for these sacraments and the sequence of their reception. Tension arises between the expectation of catechetical preparation and the proclamation of God's free gift of grace. If confirmation and First Communion are sacraments of initiation, why should they not be offered as freely as infant baptism? If they are treasures reserved for a more mature Christian, why call them initiation? The determination of the appropriate age for these sacraments will depend upon the relationship between human maturity and the sacramental encounter with God. The determination of their sequence will depend upon their meaning as independent rituals and in relationship with each other.

This book summarizes the full text on the CD, which divides the twenty centuries of Christianity into twelve chapters. Each chapter subdivides into units which pair introductory material with a collection of citations, and then concludes with a bulleted summary. Translations are the author's, except where noted in the bibliography. The reader who wishes to consult original references will find direction in the bibliography; the entry for each primary source includes the pagination generally reserved for footnotes. The collection of sources does not pretend to be exhaustive; it does aspire to fairly represent the periods under study.How to Use the CD-ROM The accompanying CD-ROM provides further references and source documents to the ideas outlined in this summary book. Each subhead in this book is listed in "Chapter Overview" sections at the beginning of the corresponding chapters on the CD. The points in the overview section are linked to more thorough and expanded explanations of the ideas introduced in this summary book. The CD consists of fully linked HTML files of each individual chapter of the book, as well as a table of contents and an extensive bibliography. These HTML files can be opened in an Internet browser or compatible word processing program. Netscape Navigator 4.08 has been provided on the CD for users who do not already have an Internet browser.

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