What is First Communion, and when do children receive it?

First Communion is the first time a baptized person receives Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. In the Latin Church, children ordinarily receive around the age of reason, commonly about seven years old.

What the child receives. At Communion, the child receives the same Eucharist received by every properly disposed Catholic: the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Christ is truly and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine (CCC 1374). First Communion is not a separate sacrament. It is the child's first reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which completes Christian initiation and stands at the heart of the Church's life (CCC 1322).

When a child is ready. Church law does not set one identical birthday for every child. A child must have sufficient knowledge and careful preparation so that, according to his or her capacity, the child understands the mystery of Christ and can receive with faith and devotion (Canon 913). The usual age is around seven, traditionally called the age of reason. A disability does not automatically prevent reception. Preparation should be adapted to the child's actual abilities, and reasonable accommodations should be provided.

What preparation includes. Parents and pastors share responsibility for preparing the child. The child should learn that the consecrated Host is Jesus, not ordinary food, and should know how to receive reverently. The child should also understand basic prayer, the Mass, the Eucharistic fast, and the difference between ordinary mistakes and serious sin at an age appropriate level. In the Latin Church, children must receive sacramental confession before First Communion (CCC 1457; Canon 914).

Different Catholic traditions. Eastern Catholic Churches ordinarily give Baptism, Chrismation, and the Eucharist together, even to infants. The Latin Church ordinarily reserves First Communion until the child has reached the use of reason (CCC 1233, 1244). These are different disciplines within the one Catholic Church. Both express the truth that the Eucharist belongs within Christian initiation.

For parents. First Communion clothing, photographs, and celebrations can honor the day, but Christ should remain central. Bring your child to Sunday Mass consistently, pray together at home, and speak plainly about the Real Presence. After First Communion, help the child receive regularly and go to confession regularly. The best preparation is a family life in which Mass is already loved, expected, and treated as sacred.