Anointing of the Sick

If you or someone in your family would like to receive the Anointing of the Sick or Last Rites please contact the 24-hour line at 1-800-267-0807.

U.S. Catholic Bishops

Diocese of Austin

For assistance in planning a Catholic funeral, please call the parish office at 512-255-4473

This sacrament is intended to bring spiritual and even physical strength to those who are ill. In the past, the sacrament was called "Extreme Unction" and was most frequently administered only to those at the brink of death. But after the Second Vatican Council, the Church returned to the original practice of anointing those who were seriously ill but not necessarily dying. As Pope Paul VI wrote: The Anointing of the Sick "is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived."

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1515), it is appropriate to receive this sacrament:

• prior to a serious surgery
• when an elderly person's frailty becomes more pronounced
• when facing a grave illness
• when the condition of someone with a grave illness worsens, even if the person has already received the sacrament.

There is often confusion between these two terms. Anointing of the Sick is a distinct sacrament, celebrated for an individual or for a group of people suffering from illness, but not necessarily dying.

The term "Last Rites" refers to special prayers said when a person is nearing death. The dying person may also receive three sacraments: 

• Penance and Reconciliation (Confession) if the sick person is able to speak
• Anointing of the Sick and
• Viaticum (Holy Communion received at the end of one's life).