According to the Tridentinedogmas of Catholicism, a sacramental character is an indelible supernatural mark made on a person's soul by any of three of the seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, and Holy Orders. The characters imprinted by those three sacraments are held to differ from each other. Each character is held to remain indelible during the recipient's life, and therefore each of those three sacraments may be received only once. In case of doubt about whether a person has received one of these three sacraments, the sacrament may be administered conditionally. In the case of holy orders, a man who has been ordained a deacon may be ordained a priest, but may not again be ordained a deacon; similarly a priest may be ordained a bishop but may not again be ordained a priest, and a bishop may not receive any further holy orders. Theologians differ on the question of whether the episcopal character is merely an extension of the presbyteral character, or is separate from it. Catholic dogmas do not state whether sacramental characters continue indelible after death, although theologians consider it very probable.
Sacramentalcharacter means a special supernatural and ineffaceable mark, or seal, or distinction, impressed upon the soul by each of the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy orders; and it is by reason of this ineffaceable mark that none of these three sacraments may be administered more than once to the same person.
In consequence of the distinction between the sacramental grace and the sacramentalcharacter, it may even happen, in the reception of these sacraments, that the character is imparted and the grace withheld; the lack of proper dispositions which is sufficient to prevent the reception of the grace may not prevent the reception of the character.
The sacramentalcharacter or mark is the character or mark of Christ, not of the Holy Spirit, and as the Redeemer has three prerogatives, as Prophet, Priest, and King, this mark is the mark of Christ as Priest.
Objection 3: Further, character is defined by some thus: "A character is a holy sign of the communion of faith and of the holy ordination conferred by a hierarch." Now a sign is in the genus of "relation," not of "power." Therefore a character is not a spiritual power.
Reply to Objection 3: A character distinguishes one from another, in relation to some particular end, to which he, who receives the character is ordained: as has been stated concerning the military character (Article [1]) by which a soldier of the king is distinguished from the enemy's soldier in relation to the battle.
Consequently, after this life the character remains, both in the good as adding to their glory, and in the wicked as increasing their shame: just as the character of the military service remains in the soldiers after the victory, as the boast of the conquerors, and the disgrace of the conquered.
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