emergency baptism, no godparents...

[choy]

hi! my son was diagnosed with intestinal malrotation just 4 days after his birth. my wife and i decided to have him baptized in the hospital before his operation (the priest also confirmed him). so it was just him, the priest, my wife and myself

now, even before his birth we have planned for the baptism next month and my family are coming over. since baptism is over and done with, can we still ask the priest to hold a ceremony to commission godparents since my son has none?

 

[Raphael777]

I don’t know the answer to your question, but just wanted to say that you and your wife are great parents for thinking to do this for your child, and your priest is a great priest for remembering to administer Confirmation in addition to Baptism.

 

[jmcrae]

hi! my son was diagnosed with intestinal malrotation just 4 days after his birth. my wife and i decided to have him baptized in the hospital before his operation (the priest also confirmed him). so it was just him, the priest, my wife and myself

now, even before his birth we have planned for the baptism next month and my family are coming over. since baptism is over and done with, can we still ask the priest to hold a ceremony to commission godparents since my son has none?

Ditto to the above - you are wonderful parents!

Ask your priest what arrangements can be made to complete the ceremonial aspects of your child’s Baptism and Confirmation, and install his godparents.

 

[JerrySeibert]

Choy you have an awesome Priest. It is not a common practice but I Baptised both of my sons. My wife or I at the time were involved in Church of any kind. All I knew was that it had to be done. The Priest had to confirm the Baptism. So you are wondering is it valid? Yes, it sure is. All that changed was that my children we coherent of what happened.
At birth when I held both I said, "I baptise you in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Sprit + (+ means I made the sign of the cross on there forehead). When our Pastor heard this he told my wife. “But, Jennifer your children are baptised your husband did it.”
We did have the Rite completed with the Priest saying the prayers. Awesome thing you have done for your child. I’ll pray for your son.
God bless.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

hi! my son was diagnosed with intestinal malrotation just 4 days after his birth. my wife and i decided to have him baptized in the hospital before his operation (the priest also confirmed him). so it was just him, the priest, my wife and myself

now, even before his birth we have planned for the baptism next month and my family are coming over. since baptism is over and done with, can we still ask the priest to hold a ceremony to commission godparents since my son has none?

YES! Talk with your pastor about supplying the additional Rites of Baptism (White garment, Candle, but no oils because he has been Confirmed), with the Godparents present.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

So glad your son was baptised and confirmed before his surgery! I will pray for his continued health. When you speak to your priest about enrolling his godparents also ask to be sure his confirmation is recorded in the parish register. When he’s in 8th grade (or whatever confirmation age is in your diocese) you’ll want to have that certificate! lol

 

[puzzleannie]

hi! my son was diagnosed with intestinal malrotation just 4 days after his birth. my wife and i decided to have him baptized in the hospital before his operation (the priest also confirmed him). so it was just him, the priest, my wife and myself

now, even before his birth we have planned for the baptism next month and my family are coming over. since baptism is over and done with, can we still ask the priest to hold a ceremony to commission godparents since my son has none?

ask the priest but it is likely not all the additional parts of the rite were done-candle etc so in cases like this when thanks be to God the child survives, the rest of the rites are completed, and at that time the godparents will stand up for him. Very good priest to confirm also. a godparent is not strictly required, but ask your priest, because he will know if there is any other rite that would be appropriate. And do double check politely that all the paperwork gets done, that the sacraments have been entered in the parish record and you get a certificate.

 

[choy]

Choy you have an awesome Priest. It is not a common practice but I Baptised both of my sons. My wife or I at the time were involved in Church of any kind. All I knew was that it had to be done. The Priest had to confirm the Baptism. So you are wondering is it valid? Yes, it sure is. All that changed was that my children we coherent of what happened.
At birth when I held both I said, "I baptise you in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Sprit + (+ means I made the sign of the cross on there forehead). When our Pastor heard this he told my wife. “But, Jennifer your children are baptised your husband did it.”
We did have the Rite completed with the Priest saying the prayers. Awesome thing you have done for your child. I’ll pray for your son.
God bless.

as a Catechist, i was well aware that i (or anyone for that matter) can validly baptize. if a priest didn’t arrive before he was to be wheeled off to the OR, i would have done it myself

it wasn’t our parish priest who came because we lived far away from where the Children’s hospital is. when i drive home at night it takes me about 45 minutes one way. our parish is 2 blocks from where i live. at mid-day it would have taken him an hour to get to the hospital. realizing it was an emergency situation, he called another priest from a parish closer to where we are and he was able to get there quickly

the most amazing thing was that my son was asleep during the baptism. after saying the Trinitarian formula and pouring water on his forehead, my son woke up, looked up, and then went back to sleep. the priest exclaimed, “oh look at that! he’s acknowledging the grace given to him”. it was a wonderful sight and feeling

 

[choy]

ask the priest but it is likely not all the additional parts of the rite were done-candle etc so in cases like this when thanks be to God the child survives, the rest of the rites are completed, and at that time the godparents will stand up for him. Very good priest to confirm also. a godparent is not strictly required, but ask your priest, because he will know if there is any other rite that would be appropriate. And do double check politely that all the paperwork gets done, that the sacraments have been entered in the parish record and you get a certificate.

hi!

yes, my son is doing well. the procedure wasn’t too complicated, its whats called a Ladd’s procedure, you can google it up. but we were worried since he was 5 days old when he was operated upon. anything can happen, i don’t want to leave it up to chance, and i do want my son to receive God’s graces and blessings before he goes for surgery

i have already received the birth certificate with an annotation that he was confirmed as well

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

So glad your son was baptised and confirmed before his surgery! I will pray for his continued health. When you speak to your priest about enrolling his godparents also ask to be sure his confirmation is recorded in the parish register. When he’s in 8th grade (or whatever confirmation age is in your diocese) you’ll want to have that certificate! lol

I would suggest that you obtain a copy a of his of his Baptism certificate from the parish where his Baptism is recorded. It will have on the back a record of his Confirmation. This will be important in the future to avoid confusion.

 

[cctabb]

hi!

yes, my son is doing well. the procedure wasn’t too complicated, its whats called a Ladd’s procedure, you can google it up. but we were worried since he was 5 days old when he was operated upon. anything can happen, i don’t want to leave it up to chance, and i do want my son to receive God’s graces and blessings before he goes for surgery

i have already received the birth certificate with an annotation that he was confirmed as well

Just a thought due to my life experiences. If your son’s baptism and confirmation were recorded at the presiding priest’s parish (not your home parish) put the name and address of the parish in your important records.

We would all like to think that we will remember the name of the church our children receive their sacraments,but unless it is the parish you’ve gone to all your live with no intention of moving you may not remember later in life.

My mother did not remember for 30+ years the name of the church where I was baptized. I had to call all of the Catholic churches within a 5 mile radius of Town X to find out. Luckily although there were about 10, I found the right one on the 2nd try.

 

[isidora99]

At birth when I held both I said, "I baptise you in the name of the Father + and of the Son + and of the Holy Sprit + (+ means I made the sign of the cross on there forehead). When our Pastor heard this he told my wife. “But, Jennifer your children are baptised your husband did it.”
We did have the Rite completed with the Priest saying the prayers. Awesome thing you have done for your child. I’ll pray for your son.
God bless.

Wait I’m confused - did you pour water on them or just make the sign of the cross, and how would that be valid in the second case?

(Sorry I know this thread is way old, but was searching for info on emergency Baptism and this came up)