What are the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church?

The seven sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Penance (Reconciliation), Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. Christ instituted each one as an efficacious sign of grace, entrusted to the Church, through which divine life is given to us (CCC 1113).

The Catholic Church teaches that there are seven sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to His Church: Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony (CCC 1113). Each is an outward sign, given by Christ, that truly confers the grace it signifies.

The Three Groupings of the Sacraments

The Church organizes the seven sacraments according to the stages and needs of the Christian life. The Sacraments of Christian Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist—lay the foundation of every Christian life, giving new life in Christ and nourishing it (CCC 1212). The Sacraments of Healing—Penance and Anointing of the Sick—restore and strengthen the life of grace when it has been wounded by sin or weakened by illness (CCC 1420-1421). The Sacraments at the Service of Communion—Holy Orders and Matrimony—are directed toward the salvation of others, building up the People of God through service and love (CCC 1534).

Scriptural Roots

Each sacrament finds its foundation in the words and actions of Christ recorded in Scripture. He commanded Baptism when He said, 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' (Matthew 28:19). At the Last Supper He instituted the Eucharist, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you: do this for a commemoration of me' (Luke 22:19). He gave the Apostles authority to forgive sins, breathing on them and saying, 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them' (John 20:23). And the Letter of James instructs the sick to call for the elders of the Church to be anointed and prayed over (James 5:14-15).

Why Seven, and Why They Matter

The Church holds firmly, as defined by the Council of Trent and reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, that there are exactly seven sacraments, no more and no fewer, all instituted by Christ Himself (CCC 1117). They are not mere symbols but efficacious signs of grace, working by the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit, whatever the personal holiness of the minister who administers them (CCC 1127-1128). Through these seven channels of grace, the whole of a Catholic's life—from birth to death, in joy and in suffering, in vocation and in daily conversion—is touched and sanctified by the presence of God.