In many church buildings constructed in the early twentieth century, there is a window or statue of Pope St. Pius X. Often, these windows were purchased with coins collected by grateful children, since in 1910 a decree admitted much younger children to First Communion. Before then, only teenagers were customarily confirmed and then admitted to the Eucharist. What we often think is ancient practice in fact sometimes has fairly shallow roots, in this case only ten decades. For centuries, Communion had marked the end of formal religious education, but a hundred years ago, Pius X located it at the point at which a child could express a desire for the sacrament and receive it with understanding. In 1917 a new code of canon law determined that age to be about seven, and this practice was observed almost everywhere until the beginning of the Second Vatican Council forty years ago.

In a growing number of dioceses, recent practice has restored the sacramental order that Pius X’s generous decree upset, and increasingly confirmation is celebrated before First Communion. But the gift Pius gave to the children of the Roman Church remains firm: everywhere we admit children to the Lord’s table. Where the traditional order has been restored, seven-year-old children are confirmed before First Communion.