How am I to feel when I got baptized at my Baptist Church, and now I am entering RCIA and cannot get baptized again to become Catholic?

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I think every Catholic church is different. I was attending RICA and was told my baptism in the Southern Baptist Church would not be accepted. The Baptists baptize someone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Spirit). Baptism is done when someone is able to make an informed decision to accept Christ as their savior. I was about 10 years old when I was baptized.

I did not finish RICA as I almost died and was told to stay home to recover. I explained this to the priest who would not allow me to take some time off from the RICA classes. I ended up joining the Episcopal Church and now the Catholic Church will recognize my original baptism. I was not baptized into the Episcopal Church but confirmed.

I currently do not go to church at all due to my poor health. I do pray, read my Bible, and love God.

I hope this answers your question.
 
His_helpmeet said:
The Church does not recognize EVERY Protestant Baptism as valid. There’s a list.

The Trinitarian formula must be used, otherwise the Baptism isn’t valid.

If there is a concern that the person may not have been validly baptized, a conditional Baptism is given - i.e. “If you are not already baptized, I baptize you…”
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100% true – I was speaking too generally. It must be in the name of the trinity and involving some form of submerging of water.
 
Our faith is not based on a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling but the reality that Jesus Christ suffered, died and resurrected from the dead. You have just started to learn what the Catholic Church teaches and believes. Relax! There are lots of reasons why the Church does it the way it does.

I was baptised Lutheran when I was four days old. Never had a Christian upbringing as my family went to church once a year and never prayed. During the two year RICA preparation (parish had 2 years as they see it nescessary for most people where I live) to be received into the Catholic Church, my baptism became very important and it gave me a totally different perspective on me as a human being. I was very angry at God that it took two years but when I got a copy of my baptismal certificate I had a good laugh and understod why I had to wait an extra year+3 weeks. My baptismal date was the same date that Easter Sunday was the year I was received. It was like going from death to life. I encourage you to learn more about how the Catholic Church sees baptism and live it to the fullest.

I have already written what is below in another thread.

Every Easter vigil after the homily our baptism vows are renewed with the questions “Do you believe in God the Father etc” used when baptism are done. Then everyone is sprinkled with holy water. When you where received into the Catholic Church you renewed your baptism promises!

Every time you are sprinkled with holy water during the beginning of mass it is done as a reminder of your baptism.

Every time you bless yourself with holy water when entering a Catholic Church or say “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” it is a reminder of your baptism.

Every single time you make the sign of the cross it is a reminder of your baptism.
 
The Catholic Church accepts all baptisms from other Christian churches that baptize with water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, which the Baptist church does… We’re to have only one baptism. God bless!
 
Perhaps, Majrobe, you were taught that when you were baptized in the Missionary Baptist Church, you became a Missionary Baptist Christian, and now that you are changing your denomination, you would need to be baptized as a Roman Catholic. That is true in some sense - that you need to go through an initiation ritual that marks the change for you.

However, as people have already stated, Baptism is a ritual for almost every Christian - no matter which church - and if you have been baptized already, even though it’s Baptist, the Catholic Church says you can count that as your statement of belief in Christ. To become a Catholic Christian, there is an additional ritual to go through to make you a full-blown Catholic. Probably it’s not the same for the Baptists if it were the other way around, but for the Catholics, it’s the way it’s done.
 
When I converted, it was a wonderful witness to my non-Catholic family and friends when they discovered that I was not going to be re-baptized. It helped them see that the Church considers them Christians as it considered me a Christian.
 
Great point. I grew up Protestant and boy did RCIA open my eyes to some things that I had been taught over the years being at best uninformed and at worst, malicious toward Catholicism.
 
I was baptized in the Baptist faith when I was about 12. The Catholic Church accepted that baptism as it was in the Trinitarian formula (Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.) I had to provide proof of my baptism and they made a copy of my Baptismal Certificate. You can be thankful as you are a Candidate in RCIA, you would be a Catechumen if you were not baptized. Make sure you discuss this at RCIA so that you have a full understanding. It is a good thing!
 
Majrobe said:
I was already baptized at my missionary baptist church though I’ve switched my faith and I am currently attending RICA to be confirmed. I am taking the Eucharist for the first time on Easter, though I do not get to be baptized in the Catholic Church. Is there anyone else that has been through this? How do I come to terms with already being baptized at another church that’s not catholic?
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Think of it this way: Baptism is the rite of passage of initiation into becoming a Christian. Confirmation and First Eucharist in the Catholic Church is the rite of passage in to full communion with the teachings of the Catholic faith.
 
Southern Baptist baptisms require full immersion in the baptismal font. I was so tiny I literally floated while the minister baptized me.
 
Baptist baptisms are valid as long as they are administered with the Trinidadian formula: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Or something along those lines. Many Protestant baptisms are valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church. The exceptions would be denominations that don’t believe in baptism or don’t use the Trinitarian formula ie Mormons, Quakers, Unitarians, et all. Your baptism is just as valid as mine, a methodist’s, or orthodox christian’s baptism.
 
You can also ask the RCIA director if you’ll be professing your faith in the Catholic Church at the Vigil, that will help you to know you’re an honest to goodness Catholic, since you seem to need more confirmation in that.
 
giuseppe96 said:
Baptist baptisms are valid as long as they are administered with the Trinidadian formula: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Or something along those lines. Many Protestant baptisms are valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church. The exceptions would be denominations that don’t believe in baptism or don’t use the Trinitarian formula ie Mormons, Quakers, Unitarians, et all. Your baptism is just as valid as mine, a methodist’s, or orthodox christian’s baptism.
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Trinidadian formula? I love auto-correct! I guess the pastor has to use his best accent for that part…
 
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Majrobe said:
How do I come to terms with already being baptized at another church that’s not catholic?
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The Catholic Church recognizes a lot of non-catholic baptisms and sometimes other sacraments.

Its just part of the faith that some sacraments are never repeated.

This is something for you all to discuss in your rcia classes
 
Don’t look at it as being baptized into the Baptist Church and not being able to be baptized into the Catholic Church.

Rather, look at it as that you have been blessed enough to have already been baptized into the name of God. He is the God of Jacob, the God of Isaac, the God of Abraham, the God of Noah, and through your previous baptism, you were added into the name of God: The God of You.

Your previous baptism made you an adopted child into the Family of God. The grace you received from that baptism has worked in your life to get you to a point where now you are going through RCIA and heading towards Confirmation.

Rather than lament that you will not receive a new baptism as a Catholic, rejoice that God’s grace has been gently drawing you to the Catholic Church since you were baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
 
I am in nearly the exact same situation. I was baptized in a Baptist church years ago and am converting to Catholicism.

To me, the reason (as explained in all the great posts above) I need not be baptized again is in itself a wonderful study of Catholic teaching. It affirms that my Trinitarian baptism actually MEANT something, and is not just symbolic. It was SO meaningful, the Catholic Church recognizes it, even if other Baptists churches wouldn’t. (yes, I have been asked to be rebaptized when moving to another Baptist church!!)
 
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MDaisy said:
I think every Catholic church is different. I was attending RICA and was told my baptism in the Southern Baptist Church would not be accepted. The Baptists baptize someone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Spirit). Baptism is done when someone is able to make an informed decision to accept Christ as their savior. I was about 10 years old when I was baptized.
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No, the Catholic Church has a list of approved baptisms which are used by every parish. There is only one Catholic Church.

As far as using the words Holy Ghost rather than Holy Spirit it doesn’t make a difference as both are valid terms for the third person of the Trinity.
 
Be glad that the Catholic Church recognizes your baptism as valid.

When we moved here, I attended Protestant churches while my then Protestant mother searched for the nearest Catholic Church. The pastor of the Protestant church I attended the longest was very anti-Catholic (didn’t and still doesn’t recognize Catholics as Christians) and said my infant baptism and Confirmation in the Catholic Church didn’t count and if I wanted to go to Heaven like my mother would because she was a Christian, I had to be baptized the right way.

Being so young, I believed the lie and was baptized in his church. It is something I have regretted and felt guilty about ever since.

The Catholic Church recognizes all valid baptisms. She doesn’t insist that everyone coming from a non-Catholic church be baptized again. Only those who have never been baptized need to be.

Rejoice and be glad that you have come home to the fullness of truth. And His Peace be with you.
 
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