Baptism in a horse trough?

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annb

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A relative is going to be baptized in a horse trough. I was told it is a Catholic baptism.

Is this ok??
 
Well, Ann, you are short on details here.

A Catholic baptism would follow the prescriptions set out in canon law. Typically a baptism would take place in the parish church, preferrably during Mass.

If there is some reason that the priest needs to use a horse trough, then certainly it would be fine. I can think of some circumstances, for example Haiti after the earthquake, with churches destroyed but other types of water reservoirs available for use.

Without a lot more detail the best answer we can give is “maybe”.
 
All it takes is water and the words “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. As long as the relative isn’t baptized by say a mormon who doesn’t see eye to eye on what the Holy Trinity is the baptism is valid by the Church.
 
annb said:
A relative is going to be baptized in a horse trough. I was told it is a Catholic baptism.

Is this ok??
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Calling it a horse trough might also be a comment on the appearance of the water vessel as perceived by whomever passed along the news of the impending baptism.

But to repeat what was said before, we really don’t have much information. As such, all we can do is speculate.
 
I was baptized into the Catholic faith, by full immersion, on the Easter Vigil of 1987. It was a galvanized steel stock tank, decorated outside with greenery and lilies. There is a tie-in with Jesus’ birth among the livestock here, and looking into a receptacle in which animals normally would drink causes one to focus on the living waters of Christ.

The power is in the Sacrament, and water is the means. What is used to contain it does not matter. It was a humbling experience, which is entirely appropriate for baptism, I would say.
 
As long as a person is baptized with water “In the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy spirit” it’s a legitimate baptism. Even an unbaptized person can baptize is some situations.
 
po18guy said:
I was baptized into the Catholic faith, by full immersion, on the Easter Vigil of 1987. It was a galvanized steel stock tank, decorated outside with greenery and lilies. …
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We used a similar arrangement for a couple of years in our previous building. * It was a temporary arrangement. Our new building has a sunken pool at the entrance to the church. Adults stand in the pool while being baptized. Infants are baptized over a small basin at the top of the rock on the left.*
 
All that is required is the proper form (“In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”), the proper matter (water) and the proper intent on the part of the person performing the baptism - that is, to initiate the recipient into the Body of Christ. Anyone may baptize, with the proper intent, but the normative means is by the Priest.

In Acts 8, Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch in water that was beside the road.
 
I know of a parish that used a horse trough for baptisms on Holy Saturday, due to their lack of a deep baptismal font. While I would not recommend doing so myself because of the aesthetics of it, the baptisms were nonetheless valid. It reminds one of what the baby Jesus was laid in after His birth.
 
I was trying to get more information. It is “cowboy church” but I am now unsure as to wether it is Catholic. At first my sister told me it is, now she tells me she doesn’t know.
We were asked to be the Godparents, and the whole situation just sounds a bit off.
 
Time to start Googling that outfit. Although, as I said, I was thus baptized, and it is every bit as valid as baptism in an Italian marble font. From such a humble beginning, among the furniture of livestock, our Lord also arrived.
 
annb said:
I was trying to get more information. It is “cowboy church” but I am now unsure as to wether it is Catholic. At first my sister told me it is, now she tells me she doesn’t know.
We were asked to be the Godparents, and the whole situation just sounds a bit off.
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We have some cowboy churches in my area. I don’t know of any that are Catholic. Most are non-denominational or charismatic.

As for the question about Baptism… I have seen people Baptized in horse troughs, a swimming pool, the ocean, and of course in more traditional ways. I Believe the Catholic church will recognize any of these, however.
 
As long as the rubrics are followed, it would be valid.

That said, it makes me sad. It seems irreverent of the significance of the holy water (as far as I know you’re supposed to show due reverence to blessed items, which is why we don’t throw our rosaries or palm leaves into the trash) and the rite itself. No one could find a more suitable vessel?
 
adopted_heir said:
As long as the rubrics are followed, it would be valid.

That said, it makes me sad. It seems irreverent of the significance of the holy water (as far as I know you’re supposed to show due reverence to blessed items, which is why we don’t throw our rosaries or palm leaves into the trash) and the rite itself. No one could find a more suitable vessel?
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My guess is that this “horse trough” is a large temporary vessel that is brought out when baptisms are to be done (like what Joe Kelley said was done at his parish.) Assuming this is even a Catholic baptism, an off the shelf live stock watering tub, suitably decorated, would be a simple solution for a parish with no permanent baptismal pool to use at the Easter Vigil.

It would be nice if the basin was prettier but when something needs to be portable that is not always practical. When my parish was new and meeting in a borrowed chapel we had a garden fountain. It was large enough that a person could stand in it and have a jug of water poured over the head. Since there was a fountain to keep the water circulating it was kept up all during the Easter season.
 
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