### sanctity (Latin sacramentum)
According to Catholic doctrines, sacraments are visible signs foreordained by Christ which appoint and mediate divine mercy. The seven sacraments within the Catholic Church are the following: christening, - which allows people to become members of the Church, confirmation, - which enriches those who have been christened by the gift of the holy spirit so they can live according to their beliefs; the sacrament of the altar - which within the framework of a mass visualises the redeeming sacrifice of Christ by turning bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ; the sacrament of penance in which the believer repents and confesses his/her sin to the confession priest and makes a promise to improve by which - through an absolution carried out by the priest - the confessor finds God's forgiveness; the last rites of the sick through which the seriously ill are given mercy in accordance to their state; and finally marriage which according to the Catholic Church is a lifetime communion between a woman and a man, - which by its nature, - aims to beget and bring up children. Protestant Churches (by a slight alteration of terms) kept only two sanctities: these are the Christening and the Lord's Supper. This last one is not the same as the sacrament of the altar, since Protestant Churches unanimously (at the same time in different forms) reject the transformation of bread and wine into the literal body and blood of Christ. MA