Title: What is a Sacrament in Catholicism?
Headings: What Is a Sacrament?
What Is a Sacrament?
A Lesson Inspired by the Baltimore Catechism
Why Does a Sacrament Need an 'Outward Sign?'
Seven Sacraments
How Does a Sacrament Give Grace?
The Evolution of the Sacraments: Mystery Religions
How the Sacraments Were Developed
Sources:

Content: What is a Sacrament in Catholicism? Abrahamic / Middle Eastern Christianity
What Is a Sacrament? A Lesson Inspired by the Baltimore Catechism
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The Last Supper, by Marten de Vos (1532-1603). Found in the collection of National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images
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By
Scott P. Richert
Catholicism Expert
M.A., Political Theory, Catholic University of America
B.A., Political Theory, Michigan State University
Scott P. Richert is senior content network manager of Our Sunday Visitor. He has written about Catholicism for outlets including Humanitas and Catholic Answers Magazine. our editorial process
Scott P. Richert
Updated January 20, 2019
A sacrament is a symbolic rite in the Christian religion, in which an ordinary individual can make a personal connection with God—the Baltimore Catechism defines a sacrament as "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace." That connection, called inner grace, is transmitted to a parishioner by a priest or bishop, who uses a specific set of phrases and actions in one of seven special ceremonies. Each of the seven sacraments used by the Catholic church is mentioned, at least in passing, in the New Testament of the Bible. They were described by St. Augustine in the 4th century CE, and the precise language and actions were codified by the Christian philosophers known as the Early Scholastics in the 12th and 13th centuries CE.