Q. Is there a limit to how many times a person can receive the Anointing of the Sick?
A. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is, along with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the most commonly celebrated Sacrament in the Church.
As the Council of Trent established, “This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord.” The effect of the Sacrament is the forgiveness of sins and the spiritual strengthening of the person so as to enable them to bear their illness or infirmity with peace. It can also bring about bodily healing.
Although the practice of anointing with blessed oils and the celebration of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick was at times muddled throughout the early life of the Church, by the Carolingian Reform of the ninth century there is a clear distinction between the two practices.
By the 12th century the name for this Sacrament became Extreme Unction. Prior to this there was no set name for the sacrament and was referred to by a wide variety of titles (Sacred Unction and Unction of God being a few examples), in the same way that today people refer to the Sacrament of Reconciliation as Penance, Confession, etc. even though they are all referring to the same Sacrament.
Extreme Unction was likely meant to refer to the anointing with oil (unction) and those who were “in the farthest reaches” (extremis) or those who were close to or in danger of death. The practice of a deathbed Confession coinciding with the Anointing of the Sick led to a general association of Anointing with death. The Council of Trent tried to make clear that a person could receive the Anointing of the Sick as many times as they became dangerously ill and various Church authorities frequently stated that the Sacrament should not be delayed until death. Nonetheless, the association between death and the Anointing of the Sick persisted.
The Second Vatican Council states very clearly that Anointing of the Sick “is not a Sacrament of those only who are at the point of death.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 73). The same document also expresses that Anointing of the Sick is a more fitting name than Extreme Unction, as it more accurately reflects the reality that a person can and should receive the Sacrament when dealing with old age, infirmity from sickness or injury, or is having serious surgery. The current law of the Church is that “the Anointing of the Sick can be administered to a member of the faithful who, having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age. This sacrament can be repeated if the sick person, having recovered, again becomes gravely ill or if the condition becomes more grave during the same illness.” (c.1004 §1, §2). There is no limit to the number of times a person can be anointed so long as they meet the necessary requirements.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, vice chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
