TITLE VI: ORDERS

Canon 1008 By divine institution some among Christ’s faithful are, through the sacrament of
order, marked with an indelible character and are thus constituted sacred ministers; thereby they
are consecrated and deputed so that, each according to his own grade, they fulfill, in the person
of Christ the Head, the offices of teaching, sanctifying and ruling, and so they nourish the people
of God.

Canon 1009 §1 The orders are the episcopate, the priesthood and the Diaconate.
§2 They are conferred by the imposition of hands and the prayer of consecration which the
liturgical books prescribe for each grade.

Chapter II: THOSE TO BE ORDAINED

Canon 1024 Only a baptized man can validly receive sacred ordination.

Canon 1025 §1 In order lawfully to confer the orders of priesthood or Diaconate, it must have
been established, in accordance with the proofs laid down by law, that in the judgment of the
proper Bishop or competent major Superior, the candidate possesses the requisite qualities, that
he is free of any irregularity or impediment, and that he has fulfilled the requirements set out in
Canon 1033--1039. Moreover, the documents mentioned in Canon 1050 must be to hand, and
the investigation mentioned in Canon 1051 must have been carried out.

§2 It is further required that, in the judgment of the same lawful Superior, the candidate is
considered beneficial to the ministry of the Church.

§3 A Bishop ordaining his own subject who is destined for the service of another diocese, must
be certain that the ordinand will in fact be attached to that other diocese.

Article 1: The Requirements in those to be Ordained

Canon 1026 For a person to be ordained, he must enjoy the requisite freedom. It is absolutely
wrong to compel anyone, in any way or for any reason whatsoever, to receive orders, or to turn
away from orders anyone who is canonically suitable.

Canon 1027 Aspirants to the Diaconate and the priesthood are to be formed by careful
preparation in accordance with the law.

Canon 1028 The diocesan Bishop or the competent Superior must ensure that before they are
promoted to any order, candidates are properly instructed concerning the order itself and its
obligations.

Canon 1029 Only those are to be promoted to orders who, in the prudent judgment of the proper
Bishop or the competent major Superior, all things considered, have sound faith, are motivated by
the right intention, are endowed with the requisite knowledge, enjoy a good reputation, and have
moral probity, proven virtue and the other physical and psychological qualities appropriate to the
order to be received.

Canon 1030 The proper Bishop or the competent major Superior may, but only for a canonical
reason, even one which is occult, forbid admission to the priesthood to deacons subject to them
who were destined for the priesthood, without prejudice to recourse in accordance with the law.

Canon 1031 §1 The priesthood may be conferred only upon those who have completed their
twenty-fifth year of age, and possess a sufficient maturity; moreover, an interval of at least six
months between the Diaconate and the priesthood must have been observed. Those who are
destined for the priesthood are to be admitted to the order of Diaconate only when they have
completed their twenty-third year.
§2 A candidate for the permanent Diaconate who is not married may be admitted to the
Diaconate only when he has completed at least his twenty-fifth year; if he is married, not until he
has completed at least his thirty-fifth year, and then with the consent of his wife.

§3 Episcopal Conferences may issue a regulation which requires a later age for the priesthood
and for the permanent Diaconate.

§4 A dispensation of more than a year from the age required by §§1 and 2 is reserved to the
Apostolic See.

Canon 1032 §1 Aspirants to the priesthood may be promoted to the Diaconate only when they
have completed the fifth year of the curriculum of philosophical and theological studies.

§2 After completing the curriculum of studies and before being promoted to the priesthood,
deacons are to spend an appropriate time, to be determined by the Bishop or by the competent
major Superior, exercising the diaconal order and taking part in the pastoral ministry.

§3 An aspirant to the permanent Diaconate is not to be promoted to this order until he has
completed the period of formation.
TITLE III: THE BLESSED EUCHARIST
Canon 897 The most venerable sacrament is the blessed Eucharist, in which Christ the Lord
himself is contained, offered and received, and by which the Church continually lives and grows.
The Eucharistic Sacrifice, the memorial of the death and resurrection of the Lord, in which the
Sacrifice of the cross is forever perpetuated, is the summit and the source of all worship and
Christian life. By means of it the unity of God’s people is signified and brought about, and the
building up of the body of Christ is perfected. The other sacraments and all the apostolic works of
Christ are bound up with, and directed to, the blessed Eucharist.

Canon 898 Christ’s faithful are to hold the blessed Eucharist in the highest honor. They should
take an active part in the celebration of the most august Sacrifice of the Mass; they should
receive the sacrament with great devotion and frequently, and should reverence it with the
greatest adoration. In explaining the doctrine of this sacrament, pastors of souls are assiduously
to instruct the faithful about their obligation in this regard.

Chapter I: THE CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST

Canon 899 §1 The celebration of the Eucharist is an action of Christ himself and of the Church. In
it Christ the Lord, through the ministry of the priest, offers himself, substantially present under the
appearances of bread and wine, to God the Father, and gives himself as spiritual nourishment to
the faithful who are associated with him in his offering.

§2 In the Eucharistic assembly the people of God are called together under the presidency of the
Bishop or of a priest authorized by him, who acts in the person of Christ. All the faithful present,
whether clerics or lay people, unite to participate in their own way, according to their various
orders and liturgical roles.

§3 The Eucharistic celebration is to be so ordered that all the participants derive from it the many
fruits for which Christ the Lord instituted the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

Article 1: The Minister of the Blessed Eucharist

Canon 900 §1 The only minister who, in the person of Christ, can bring into being the sacrament
of the Eucharist, is a validly ordained priest.

§2 Any priest who is not debarred by Canon law may lawfully celebrate the Eucharist, provided
the provisions of the following Canons are observed.

Canon 901 A priest is entitled to offer Mass for anyone, living or dead.

Canon 902 Unless the benefit of Christ’s faithful requires or suggests otherwise, priests may
concelebrate the Eucharist; they are, however, fully entitled to celebrate the Eucharist
individually, but not while a celebration is taking place in the same church or oratory.

Canon 903 A priest is to be permitted to celebrate the Eucharist, even if he is not known to the
rector of the church, provided either that he presents commendatory letters, not more than a year
old, from his own Ordinary or Superior, or that it can be prudently judged that he is not debarred
from celebrating.

Canon 904 Remembering always that in the mystery of the Eucharistic Sacrifice the work of
redemption is continually being carried out, priests are to celebrate frequently. Indeed, daily
celebration is earnestly recommended, because, even if it should not be possible to have the
faithful present, it is an action of Christ and of the Church in which priests fulfill their principal role.

Canon 905 §1 Apart from those cases in which the law allows him to celebrate or concelebrate
the Eucharist a number of times on the same day, a priest may not celebrate more than once a
day.
§2 If there is a scarcity of priests, the local Ordinary may for a good reason allow priests to
celebrate twice in one day or even, if pastoral need requires it, three times on Sundays or
holydays of obligation.

Canon 906 A priest may not celebrate the Eucharistic Sacrifice without the participation of at least
one of the faithful, unless there is a good and reasonable cause for doing so.

Canon 907 In the celebration of the Eucharist, deacons and lay persons are not permitted to say
the prayers, especially the Eucharistic prayer, nor to perform the actions which are proper to the
celebrating priest.

Canon 908 Catholic priests are forbidden to concelebrate the Eucharist with priests or ministers
of Churches or ecclesial communities which are not in full communion with the Catholic Church.

Canon 909 A priest is not to omit dutifully to prepare himself by prayer before the celebration of
the Eucharist, nor afterwards to omit to make thanksgiving to God.

Canon 910 §1 The ordinary minister of holy communion is a Bishop, a priest or a deacon.
§2 The extraordinary minister of holy communion is an acolyte, or another of Christ’s faithful
deputed in accordance with Canon 230 §3.

Canon 911 §1 The duty and right to bring the blessed Eucharist to the sick as Viaticum belongs to
the parish priest, to assistant priests, to chaplains and, in respect of all who are in the house, to
the community Superior in clerical religious institutes or societies of apostolic life.

§2 In a case of necessity, or with the permission at least presumed of the parish priest, chaplain
or Superior, who must subsequently be notified, any priest or other minister of holy communion
must do this.
TITLE V: THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Canon 998 The anointing of the sick, by which the Church commends to the suffering and
glorified Lord the faithful who are dangerously ill so that he may support and save them, is
conferred by anointing them with oil and pronouncing the words prescribed in the liturgical books.

Chapter I: THE CELEBRATION OF THE SACRAMENT

Canon 999 The oil to be used in the anointing of the sick can be blessed not only by a Bishop but
also by:
1° those who are in law equivalent to the diocesan Bishop;
2° in a case of necessity, any priest but only in the actual celebration of the sacrament.

Canon 1000 §1 The anointings are to be carried out accurately, with the words and in the order
and manner prescribed in the liturgical books. In a case of necessity, however, a single anointing
on the forehead, or even on another part of the body, is sufficient while the full formula is recited.

§2 The minister is to anoint with his own hand, unless a grave reason indicates the use of an
instrument.

Canon 1001 Pastors of souls and those who are close to the sick are to ensure that the sick are
helped by this sacrament in good time.

Canon 1002 The communal celebration of anointing of the sick, for a number of the sick together,
who have been appropriately prepared and are rightly disposed, may be held in accordance with
the regulations of the diocesan Bishop.
Chapter II: THE MINISTER OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK
Canon 1003 §1 Every priest, but only a priest, can validly administer the anointing of the sick.

§2 All priests to whom has been committed the care of souls, have the obligation and the right to
administer the anointing of the sick to those of the faithful entrusted to their pastoral care. For a
reasonable cause, any other priest may administer this sacrament if he has the consent, at least
presumed, of the aforementioned priest.

§3 Any priest may carry the holy oil with him, so that in a case of necessity he can administer the
sacrament of anointing of the sick.

Chapter III: THOSE TO BE ANOINTED

Canon 1004 §1 The anointing of the sick can be administered to any member of the faithful who,
having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger of death by reason of illness or old age.

§2 This sacrament can be repeated if the sick person, having recovered, again becomes
seriously ill or if, in the same illness, the danger becomes more serious.

Canon 1005 If there is any doubt as to whether the sick person has reached the age of reason, or
is dangerously ill, or is dead, this sacrament is to be administered.

Canon 1006 This sacrament is to be administered to the sick who, when they were in possession
of their faculties, at least implicitly asked for it.

Canon 1007 The anointing of the sick is not to be conferred upon those who obstinately persist in
a manifestly grave sin.