Anointing of the Sick

The Anointing of the Sick, also known as "Extreme Unction" or the "Last Rites", is a sacrament of the Roman Catholic Church, among others, in which oil is applied to the body of a seriously ill person by a priest, while certain prayers are said by the priest and, if possible, participated in by the recipient of the sacrament. It can be combined with the sacrament of reconciliation and the administering of the Holy Eucharist. The ceremony is meant to recall the anointing of Jesus Christ with perfumed or fragrant oil by Mary Magdalene shortly before Jesus's arrest, trial and execution.