Canonical age
Encyclopedia
Canonical age in Roman Catholic canon law
is an age one must reach, counting from birth, when one becomes capable of incurring certain obligations, enjoying special privileges, embracing special states of life, holding office or dignity, or receiving the sacraments.
Each of these human acts requires a development of mind, body, or spirit appropriate to its free and voluntary acceptance and an adequate knowledge of, and capacity for, the duties and obligations attached. The ages prescribed by canon law differ, as do the privileges, offices, and dignities to which they apply.
can be validly administered regardless of age.
For confession
, the canonical age is seven, the age of reason
, when a child is nominally supposed to be capable of mortal sin
and being bound by the law of annual confession.
Christians should receive Holy Communion when they have attained the age of discretion. There is much controversy as to what that age is precisely. Children in danger of death, capable of committing and confessing to mortal sin, and of distinguishing heavenly from ordinary food, when desirous of receiving Holy Communion, must not be denied it, although they may not have achieved the minimum age prescribed.
Extreme unction is to be administered to a child of seven years or younger, who is capable of sin. Children of seven years are bound by the laws of abstinence and of hearing Mass. They can also be sponsors in the conferring of baptism and confirmation; but the Roman Ritual says that it is more expedient that they should be fourteen years old and confirmed.
Twelve years is generally recommended for confirmation, but if there are urgent reasons for not awaiting that age, it is expedient not to confirm before the age of reason, that is, seven years of age.
The marriage
able age is fourteen years for males and twelve years for females, under penalty of nullity, unless natural puberty supplies the want of years. Marriages void because of the absence of legal age or natural puberty are held as sponsalia, inducing thereby impediment of "public decorum".
The Council of Trent fixed the ages of 22 for subdeacon
ship, 23 for deacon
ship, and 25 for priest
hood. The first day of the year in which the canonical age is to be reached is sufficiently timely for the reception of the order. Trent confirmed the Lateran age of thirty years for the episcopate. The age for cardinal
s (including cardinal-deacons) was fixed by the Council at thirty years of age.
No age is fixed by law for election to the papacy.
Generals, provincials
, abbot
s, and other regular prelate
s having quasi-episcopal jurisdiction must, according to many, have completed their thirtieth year before election; according to others, their 25th year. Various orders and congregations, however, have their own rules for the requisite ages for inferior offices and dignities.
The Council of Trent
(Sess. xxv, cap. 7, de regular. et monial.) fixed forty years, and eight years after her profession, for an abbess
, mother general, or prioress of a religious order of nuns. Could none such be found in a monastery (convent), then a nun
over thirty years old and more than five years professed, can be elected. An election contrary to these rules is invalid.
For clothing with the religious habit or entrance into the novitiate, no age is fixed by decretal law.
For religious profession, the Council of Trent prescribes sixteen years of age, with one year of novitiate. The latest enactment, prescribing simple vow
s for three continuous years after the novitiate before solemn profession, fixes the age for solemn profession at nineteen years for both men and women.
Canon law (Catholic Church)
The canon law of the Catholic Church, is a fully developed legal system, with all the necessary elements: courts, lawyers, judges, a fully articulated legal code and principles of legal interpretation. It lacks the necessary binding force present in most modern day legal systems. The academic...
is an age one must reach, counting from birth, when one becomes capable of incurring certain obligations, enjoying special privileges, embracing special states of life, holding office or dignity, or receiving the sacraments.
Each of these human acts requires a development of mind, body, or spirit appropriate to its free and voluntary acceptance and an adequate knowledge of, and capacity for, the duties and obligations attached. The ages prescribed by canon law differ, as do the privileges, offices, and dignities to which they apply.
Sacraments
BaptismBaptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
can be validly administered regardless of age.
For confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, the canonical age is seven, the age of reason
Age of reason (canon law)
In the Roman Catholic Church, the age of reason, also called the age of discretion, is the age at which children become capable of moral responsibility. On completion of the seventh year a minor is presumed to have the use of reason, but mental retardation or insanity could prevent some...
, when a child is nominally supposed to be capable of mortal sin
Mortal sin
Mortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...
and being bound by the law of annual confession.
Christians should receive Holy Communion when they have attained the age of discretion. There is much controversy as to what that age is precisely. Children in danger of death, capable of committing and confessing to mortal sin, and of distinguishing heavenly from ordinary food, when desirous of receiving Holy Communion, must not be denied it, although they may not have achieved the minimum age prescribed.
Extreme unction is to be administered to a child of seven years or younger, who is capable of sin. Children of seven years are bound by the laws of abstinence and of hearing Mass. They can also be sponsors in the conferring of baptism and confirmation; but the Roman Ritual says that it is more expedient that they should be fourteen years old and confirmed.
Twelve years is generally recommended for confirmation, but if there are urgent reasons for not awaiting that age, it is expedient not to confirm before the age of reason, that is, seven years of age.
The marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
able age is fourteen years for males and twelve years for females, under penalty of nullity, unless natural puberty supplies the want of years. Marriages void because of the absence of legal age or natural puberty are held as sponsalia, inducing thereby impediment of "public decorum".
Priesthood, Orders, and Clerical Office
The ancient discipline was neither universal nor fixed, but varied with circumstances of time and locality. The requisite age, according to Gratian, for tonsure and the first three minor orders, those of doorkeeper, reader, and exorcist, was seven, and for acolyte, twelve years.The Council of Trent fixed the ages of 22 for subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
ship, 23 for deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
ship, and 25 for priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
hood. The first day of the year in which the canonical age is to be reached is sufficiently timely for the reception of the order. Trent confirmed the Lateran age of thirty years for the episcopate. The age for cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
s (including cardinal-deacons) was fixed by the Council at thirty years of age.
No age is fixed by law for election to the papacy.
Generals, provincials
Provincial superior
A Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...
, abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s, and other regular prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
s having quasi-episcopal jurisdiction must, according to many, have completed their thirtieth year before election; according to others, their 25th year. Various orders and congregations, however, have their own rules for the requisite ages for inferior offices and dignities.
The Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
(Sess. xxv, cap. 7, de regular. et monial.) fixed forty years, and eight years after her profession, for an abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
, mother general, or prioress of a religious order of nuns. Could none such be found in a monastery (convent), then a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
over thirty years old and more than five years professed, can be elected. An election contrary to these rules is invalid.
For clothing with the religious habit or entrance into the novitiate, no age is fixed by decretal law.
For religious profession, the Council of Trent prescribes sixteen years of age, with one year of novitiate. The latest enactment, prescribing simple vow
Simple vow
In Roman Catholic canon law, a simple vow is any vow, public or private, individual or collective, concerned with an action or with abstaining from an action, if that vow has not been recognized by the Church as a solemn vow....
s for three continuous years after the novitiate before solemn profession, fixes the age for solemn profession at nineteen years for both men and women.
External links
- Catholic Encyclopedia: Canonical Age (of historical value only)