Britannica Sources used in this answer

How did the Council of Trent confirm the number of Roman Catholic sacraments?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Roman Catholicism St. Peter's Basilica on St. Peter's Square, Vatican City.

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) formally confirmed the number of sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church as seven.12

This decision served as a definitive response to Protestant reformers, such as Martin Luther, who had argued that only rites explicitly instituted by Christ in Scripture—typically baptism and the Eucharist—should be considered sacraments. By fixing the number at seven, the Council upheld the traditional enumeration established by theologians like Peter Lombard and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as the Council of Florence (1439).123

The seven sacraments affirmed by the Council are:
* Baptism
* Confirmation
* The Eucharist
* Penance (reconciliation)
* Holy orders
* Matrimony
* Anointing of the sick (formerly known as extreme unction)412

These rites were declared to be instituted by Christ and essential for the Roman Catholic faith, serving as the fundamental system for the union of God and humankind.41