Q436 – Jesus tells us that unless we eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, we have no life in us. Why doesn’t the Catholic Church emphasize infant First Communion as it does infant baptism?

Interview Organization: Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher P. Wendt
Date: March 13, 2026
Bishop Schneider says infant communion was practiced since the early centuries and continued in the Latin Church until Thomas Aquinas, who noted baptized infants receive it because they are without sin. He says Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches still practice it, so it remains a Catholic practice in Oriental rites.

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Well, it was a practice since the first centuries, and in the Latin Church also, even until Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas mentioned that infants were given Holy Communion because they are baptized infants, of course, because they are innocent. The soul is completely without sin. Why? Why can't our Lord come to visit this soul? The Orthodox Church and the Greek Catholic Church also continue this practice to this day. So it is, I must say, still in the Catholic Church. Infant communion is practiced, but only in the Oriental rites. Nevertheless, it is a Catholic practice because they are also Catholic.

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