The Anointing of the Sick: The Sacrament of Healing

The Anointing of the Sick is one of the Catholic Church's two sacraments of healing, alongside Confession. Its purpose is to bring the grace of Christ to those whose health is seriously impaired by illness or old age. Where a healthy person meets Christ in the sacraments of everyday Christian life, the seriously ill often cannot — and this sacrament brings Christ's strength and consolation directly to them in their weakness.

The Church draws the sacrament from Scripture, especially the Letter of James, which instructs that anyone who is sick should call for the elders of the Church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:14–15). Jesus himself healed the sick constantly and sent his apostles to do the same. The Anointing continues that ministry: it is the Church gathering around the suffering person to place them, body and soul, in the hands of God (CCC 1499–1500).

This is the most common misunderstanding. For centuries the sacrament was called "Extreme Unction" and given only when death was near, which left many Catholics believing it is strictly for the dying. The Church has clarified that this is not the case. The Anointing is for anyone who is seriously ill, weakened by age, or about to undergo a major operation — not only for those at the point of death — and a person may receive it more than once, for instance if they recover and later fall gravely ill again, or if a long illness worsens.

"Last rites" is a broader term for the Church's care of the dying, which normally combines three things: the sacrament of Confession, the Anointing of the Sick, and a final reception of Holy Communion called Viaticum — literally "provision for the journey." The Anointing is one part of this, but it is a sacrament of healing and strength for the living sick, not simply a farewell (CCC 1514–1515).

Only a priest or bishop can administer the sacrament. The rite is quiet and brief. The priest may first hear the person's confession, then lays hands on them in silence, prays over them, and anoints them with the oil of the sick — blessed oil, usually olive oil — on the forehead and the hands, praying that the Lord in his love and mercy will help them with the grace of the Holy Spirit and raise them up. Family and friends are encouraged to be present and to pray.

Any Catholic who has reached the age of reason and begins to be in danger from illness or old age may receive it. It is fitting to receive it before serious surgery, and the elderly may receive it as their strength declines even without a specific acute illness. Because it can be repeated, the Church encourages the sick not to wait until the final moment but to call for the priest while they are still able to take part consciously and prayerfully (CCC 1514–1516).

The Anointing gives a particular grace suited to the trial of serious illness. Its first effect is a gift of the Holy Spirit that brings strength, peace, and courage to endure suffering in a Christian way, resisting the discouragement and even despair that sickness can bring. It unites the sick person to the Passion of Christ, so that their suffering is no longer meaningless but joined to his and made fruitful for themselves and the whole Church.

The sacrament also brings the forgiveness of sins if the person was unable to confess, and it prepares them for the final journey to God should the illness prove fatal. And the Church prays for bodily healing as well: if it is God's will, the sacrament can restore physical health, and it is always ordered to the health of the whole person, body and soul. Its aim is not resignation but the healing and salvation of the one who suffers (CCC 1520–1523).