Confirmation is one of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The Code of Canon Law provides a helpful definition:
- Can. 879 The sacrament of Confirmation confers a character. By it the baptized continue their path of christian initiation. They are enriched with the gift of the Holy Spirit, and are more closely linked to the Church. They are made strong and more firmly obliged by word and deed to witness to Christ and to spread and defend the faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is helpful as well:
- 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.89 For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."90
For more on the Sacrament of Confirmation, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1285-1321.