Sacramental Guidelines

"The Sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, 

by which divine life is dispensed to us. The Sacramental Guidelines for the Diocese of
Pensacola-Tallahassee are designed primarily for the benefit of the parish 
and faith formation leaders who administer sacrament preparation and celebrate the 
Sacraments with the people of God."

Click Here for the 2025 SACRAMENTAL GUIDELINES
BISHOP WACK'S PROMULGATION LETTER

• Baptism
• Confirmation
• Eucharist
• Penance
• Anointing of the Sick
• Matrimony

• The last major revision of sacramental guidelines in our diocese occurred in 2008 with a minor update in 2013
• This revision incorporates the following:
  • Significant changes to sacramental preparation and administration in accord with Bishop Wack's 2025 announcement that the diocese would be moving toward a restored order of the sacraments of initiation
  • The addition of guidelines for Matrimony and the Anointing of the Sick which were not included in the 2008 guidelines
  • Appendices addressing OCIA programming within diocesan schools
  • Appendix addressing OCIA programming through prison ministry to incarcerated individuals

• Clergy
• Lay parish staff and volunteers who assist clergy in preparing the faithful for sacraments through catechesis and formation
• Lay parish staff and volunteers who assist clergy in the administrative work that accompanies sacraments at the parish level
• Catholic school personnel who help students learn about the sacraments and facilitate deeper connections to the sacramental life of the Church experienced in parishes
• Diocesan staff who assist parishes in their work to prepare the faithful for sacraments and administer them in an efficacious manner
• Any of the faithful who are interested in learning more about the methodology and rationale for how the Church provides the sacraments

• The guidelines should be used to in tandem with the 2024 Sacramental Record Keeping Norms and the 2025 Pastoral Letter Reborn, Anointed, Nourished to form a comprehensive plan to guide the faithful to the fruitful reception of the sacraments. Used together, these three documents will help:
  • Identify the number of parish leaders with the right skills needed in various roles to facilitate a fruitful reception of the sacraments for parishioners
  • Form a pastoral vision to offer impactful catechesis for those preparing for the sacraments
  • Troubleshoot difficult moments resulting from complex circumstances in the lives of the faithful