Q. After someone dies, can that person still receive the Anointing of the Sick?
A. The Church, in Her wisdom, provides many practices for the faithful to assist them at the moment of death, or at the death of a loved one.
There is the apostolic pardon, which remits all temporal punishment due sin. There is Viaticum, which translates as food or provisions for a journey, the last reception of the Eucharist to assist a person in their last moments. There are the Prayers for the Dying and, of course, there is the Anointing of the Sick.
It is always important to keep in mind that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is not reserved for those who are actively dying. A person who is dealing with a serious illness or facing a significant surgery that puts him or her in danger of death can – and should – be anointed. Anointing of the Sick has had a hard time shaking its reputation for being meant only for those who are actively dying. I will always remember walking into a hospital room and having the patient literally shout at me, “Don’t anoint me! I’m not ready to die yet!” as if anointing a person would hasten death. If you find yourself beginning to be “in danger, due to sickness or old age,” you should be anointed.
As to the question of being anointed after death, the answer is no. The Sacraments are for the living, not the dead, and anointing someone after he or she has died will be of no use. The Church provides for the soul with specific prayers meant to be said shortly after someone dies. When a person has died, the best thing we can do for that person is to pray for the happy repose of his or her soul. It is an act of charity for the deceased, and a means of grieving for those left behind.
While this seems like a straightforward answer, there is some grey area. This grey area is not around whether a person who has died can be anointed, but rather, “when does a person die?” or more specifically, “when does a soul leave a body?”
When a material body can no longer “support” the immaterial soul, the soul is separated from the body. This happens when the body ceases to function due to traumatic injury or disease, or simply old age. A person dies when his or her soul leaves the body. This does not necessarily coincide with the moment that the heart stops beating, or breathing stops. There are countless cases in which someone “dies” medically but is revived. Presumably, the soul did not leave the body and return. So, simply because a person seems to have died does not mean that death, in fact, has occurred.
Because of this, as a basic rule of thumb, priests will generally anoint someone shortly after they have “died,” under the assumption that it is possible the soul has not yet left the body. The rite for the Anointing of the Sick states that, “When a priest has been called to attend a person who is already dead, he should pray for the dead person, asking that God forgive his sins and graciously receive him into his kingdom. The priest is not to administer the sacrament of anointing. But if the priest is doubtful whether the sick person is dead, he may administer the sacrament conditionally.”
It is left largely to the priest’s judgement to determine if there is reasonable doubt and, if there is, he can conditionally anoint the person.
Could a priest always say it is doubtful that a person has died and then anoint everyone? Sure. But the priest would need to have reasonable doubt. If it is very obvious, due to time or the normal effects that death has on a body, that a person is dead, the priest cannot claim a reasonable doubt. The minister must always intend to do what the Church intends, and the Church very clearly intends the sacraments for the living, not the dead. While She gives some wiggle room in the hope that someone who is still not dead receives anointing, when it is clear death has occurred, the only thing that can help that person now is prayer.
It is a long-standing tradition amongst Catholics to pray for the grace of having a priest present at the time of death. I would encourage everyone to add this prayer to their daily prayers, not just for themselves, but for their friends and family as well.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, 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.
