Editing Last rites (section)

==Catholic Church==
{{see also|Viaticum|Anointing of the Sick in the Catholic Church}}

[[File:Death of princess maria amelia.jpg|thumb|[[Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil]] receiving her last rites, 1853]] 
[[File:Joseph T. O'Callahan gives last rites to an injured crewman aboard USS Franklin (CV-13), 19 March 1945.jpg|thumb|A Catholic [[chaplain]], Lieutenant Commander [[Joseph T. O'Callahan]], administering the last rites to an injured crewman aboard [[USS Franklin (CV-13)|USS ''Franklin'']], after the ship was set afire by a Japanese air attack, 19 March 1945]]

The [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]] defines Last Rites as [[Viaticum]] ([[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Holy Communion]] administered to someone who is dying), and the ritual prayers of Commendation of the Dying, and Prayers for the Dead.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/768/Anointing-or-last-rites.aspx| title = M. Francis Mannion, "Anointing or last rites?" in ''Our Sunday Visitor'' Newsweekly| access-date = 9 November 2019| archive-date = 16 July 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180716001917/https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/768/Anointing-or-last-rites.aspx| url-status = dead}}</ref>

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is usually postponed until someone is near death. Anointing of the Sick has been thought to be exclusively for the dying, though it can be received at any time. Extreme Unction (Final Anointing)  is the name given to Anointing of the Sick when received during last rites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a5.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The anointing of the sick|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> If administered to someone who is not just ill but near death, Anointing of the Sick is generally accompanied by celebration of the sacraments of [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance]] and Viaticum.  

The order of the three is important and should be given in the order of Penance (confessing one's sins), then Anointing of the Sick, and finally the Viaticum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Michelle |date=29 December 2017 |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/a-guide-to-the-last-rites|title=A Guide to the Last Rites|website=Catholic Answers |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604152211/https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/a-guide-to-the-last-rites |archivedate=4 June 2018}}</ref> The principal reason Penance is administered first to the seriously ill and dying is because the forgiveness of one's sins, and most especially one's [[Mortal sin|mortal sins]], is for Catholics necessary for being in a state of grace (in a full relationship with God). Dying while in the state of grace ensures that a Catholic will go to heaven (if they are in a state of grace but still attached to sin, they will eventually make it to heaven but must first go through a spiritual cleansing process called [[purgatory]]). 

Although these three (Penance, Anointing of the sick, and Viaticum) are not, in the proper sense, the Last Rites, they are sometimes spoken of as such; the Eucharist given as Viaticum is the only sacrament essentially associated with dying.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stolz |first1=Eric |title=Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites |url=https://stbrendanla.org/anointing-of-the-sick |website=St. Brendan Catholic Church |access-date=19 September 2022}}</ref> "The celebration of the Eucharist as Viaticum is the sacrament proper to the dying Christian".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dioceseofgallup.org/pdfs/sacramental_guidelines/ANNOINTING.pdf |publisher=Diocese of Gallup |title=Sacramental Guidelines |access-date=4 December 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124013001/http://dioceseofgallup.org/pdfs/sacramental_guidelines/ANNOINTING.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the [[Roman Ritual]]'s ''Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum'', Viaticum is the only sacrament dealt with in ''Part II: Pastoral Care of the Dying''. Within that part, the chapter on Viaticum is followed by two more chapters, one on ''Commendation of the Dying'', with short texts, mainly from the Bible, a special form of the litany of the saints, and other prayers, and the other on ''Prayers for the Dead''. A final chapter provides ''Rites for Exceptional Circumstances'', namely, the ''Continuous Rite of Penance, Anointing, and Viaticum'', ''Rite for Emergencies'', and ''Christian Initiation for the Dying''. The last of these concerns the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation to those who have not received them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Other Sacraments – St Patrick's Catholic Parish Mortlake |url=https://stpatsmortlake.org.au/sacraments/other-sacraments/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=stpatsmortlake.org.au}}</ref>

In addition, the priest has authority to bestow a [[Apostolic blessing|blessing in the name of the Pope]] on the dying person, to which a plenary [[indulgence]] is attached.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armentrout |first=Don S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNM8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians |last2=Slocum |first2=Robert Boak |date=1999 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-89869-211-2 |language=en}}</ref>