<P> Now when the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John . Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost . For he was not as yet come upon any of them; but they were only baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus . Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost . </P> <P> In the Latin Church (i.e. Western Catholic Church), the sacrament is to be conferred on the faithful at about the age of discretion (generally taken to be about 7), unless the Episcopal Conference has decided on a different age, or there is danger of death or, in the judgment of the minister, a grave reason suggests otherwise . Even in those countries where the episcopal conference has set a later age as normal, a bishop may not refuse to confer the sacrament on younger children who request it, provided they are baptized, have the use of reason, are suitably instructed and are properly disposed and able to renew the baptismal promises (letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments published in its 1999 bulletin, pages 537--540). </P> <P> The sacrament is customarily conferred only on people old enough to understand it, and the ordinary minister of Confirmation is a bishop . Only for a serious reason may the diocesan bishop delegate a priest to administer the sacrament (canon 884 of the Code of Canon Law). However, a priest may confer the sacrament when he baptizes someone who is no longer an infant or admits a person already baptized to full communion with the Catholic Church, or if the person (adult or child) to be confirmed is in danger of death (canon 883). Priests typically administer the sacrament during the Easter Vigil Mass to adults becoming members of the Catholic Church . It is the conclusion of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program . Priests customarily ask for and are granted permission for this occasion . (Canon 882 - 888). </P> <P> In the early Church, through the Middle Ages, confirmation was closely linked with baptism and it was often performed on infants before their first birthday, but in some churches, the minimal age of 10 years comes into play . Like baptism, confirmation was an act for which the parents were held responsible . Two synods held in England during the thirteenth century differed over whether confirmation had to be administered within one year after birth, or within three years . Confirmation became a much more important rite when concerns about understanding and faith grew, in particular following the Reformation . </P>

Meaning of confirmation in the roman catholic church