What is the Anointing of the Sick?

The Anointing of the Sick is one of the seven sacraments, in which a priest anoints a seriously ill or dying person with blessed oil, asking God for healing, strength, and the forgiveness of sins. It unites the sick person's suffering to Christ's Passion and prepares the soul for eternal life (CCC 1499-1532).

The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing given by Christ to comfort and strengthen those who are seriously ill, elderly, or facing surgery. Through the anointing with blessed oil and the prayer of the priest, the Church commends the sick to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them (CCC 1499).

Scriptural Foundation

The sacrament has its roots in Christ's own healing ministry and in the practice of the apostles, who anointed the sick with oil and healed many (Mark 6:13). Its clearest institution is found in the Letter of St. James: 'Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man: and the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him' (James 5:14-15). The Church has always read this text as revealing a true sacrament instituted by Christ (CCC 1510).

Who Receives It, and When

Any baptized Catholic who begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age is a fitting subject for this sacrament, and it may be repeated if the illness worsens or a new serious illness arises (CCC 1514-1515). It is not reserved only for those at the point of death, as the older term 'Extreme Unction' might suggest, but is meant for the seriously ill so that they might be strengthened, not merely comforted, in facing their trial (CCC 1511-1513).

Matter, Form, and Minister

The sacrament is conferred by a bishop or priest, who anoints the forehead and hands of the sick person with oil blessed for this purpose, saying: 'Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up' (CCC 1513).

The Effects of the Sacrament

The special grace of this sacrament unites the sick person more closely to the Passion of Christ, gives comfort and peace, strengthens against temptations of despair or anxiety about death, and, if the person is unable to confess, forgives sins. It may also, if God so wills, restore bodily health, and it prepares the soul for the final passage to the Father's house (CCC 1520-1523, CCC 1532). When received as part of the last rites, it is fittingly joined with Confession and Holy Communion given as Viaticum, food for the journey to eternal life.