Children are the heart of God’s heart. “Their angels in heaven constantly contemplate the face of the Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18,10).The first recommendation that Jesus gives to Peter is to feed His lambs, even before His sheep (Jn 21,15), that is, to guard and spiritually nourish His children
On August 10, 1910 His Holiness St. Pius X signed the Decree “QuamSingulari” by which he established that children be allowed to receive First Communion at the age of seven.
- Card. Gennari’s Commentary. At the same time that the Decree “Quam Singulari” was issued, Pope Pius X appointed Cardinal Casimir Gennari, a member of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, to write the Commentary on the Decree itself. Cardinal Gennari, like nobody else, was the first to bear witness to the importance and extent of the Decree.
- Commentary by Mons. Domenico Jorio, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, on the Decree “Quam Singulari” (1928). In 1928, eighteen years after the Decree “Quam Singulari” was issued, during the pontificate of Pius XI, Cardinal Jorio, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, took up the subject again with a lucid analysis in order to eliminate any further obstacles to the realization of the Decree itself.
All of St. Pius X’s successors have confirmed his guidelines on Communion at the age of reason.
H.H. Benedict XV H.H. Pius XI
H.H. Pius XII H.H. Paul VI
H.H. John Paul II
On January 24, 2005 the Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, in a letter issued by the Ministry and addressed to all the Priests in the world, on the occasion of the Year of the Eucharist, reminded them about their duty to “especially guard children as the first receivers” of the Eucharist.
“In every era, and especially in this one, in which the social media and the environment have such an influence on children and allow them to reach the age of reason precociously, (…) we must remember the Lord’s warning: “do not hinder them, let the children come to Me” (Cardinal Nicolas de Jesùs Lòpez Rodrìguez Metropolitan Archbishop of the Dominican Republic Primate of America (March 2007)
It completely falls into line with St. Pius X’s directives; Can. 914; “It is above all the obligation of parents and guardians, as well as the parish priest, to see that children who have reached the age of reason be properly prepared and as soon as possible, following sacramental Confession, be nourished with this heavenly food
“This is what required instruction for first Communion involves…”
