Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian's life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1210