My sister is not sure if she was baptized

[MarthaSo]

My father said yes, she may have for whatever reason difficulty accepting it as truth. She was at our baby’s baptism and this is when the topic was brought up. We don’t know what Church it might have been back in the sixties.

If the Catholic church forbids a second baptism and she doesn’t want to accept my fathers answer what can she do?

Is it better for her to go through RCIA “just in case?”.

update-I just learned when she asked our mom our mom said a layman did it at home and she couldn’t remember the names of the godparents.

She will talk to a priest, just hoping to get some insight. Thank you all.

 

[Gripper]

I have two baptism candles because when I became Catholic the priest wasn’t sure whether my baptism had been trinitarian or not as the church had moved and was an obscure denomination.

 

[JulianN]

Did your father say, “Yes” or “Yes, maybe.” ?

Are there other family members who would remember? Failing that, she can check with the churches near where she was born and ask them to look at their baptismal records.

 

[MarthaSo]

She said when she asked our mom our mom said a layman did it at home and she couldn’t remember the names of the godparents.

 

[MarthaSo]

Hi she just told me my mother informed her that hers was done at home by a layman

 

[TheLittleLady]

Start with the parish (es) in the town where she was born.

 

[JulianN]

Was this a Catholic baptism?

 

[MarthaSo]

I will continue to call the churches the one i did did not have record of her baptism , they moved alot

 

[MarthaSo]

She has no idea, she said she can’t get s straight answer were the exact words

 

[JulianN]

Then I would say your sister has grounds to question her baptism, and getting in touch with her priest is a good idea.

 

[Camehome4john6]

Conditional baptism exists pretty much for these situations I believe. I would think that she will probably have to go through RCIA though.

 

[MarthaSo]

you guys are awesome, as usual, thank you so so much I relayed the information to her I really appreciate all of you so much!!

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Was this a Catholic baptism?

The question should be whether it was a valid baptism, not whether it was a Catholic baptism. If this woman was baptized, for example, by an Episcopalian layman or a Methodist layman, her baptism would be just as valid as if she had been baptized by the Pope himself.

 

[MarthaSo]

Wow I did not know this. I would like to read the CCC on this. I think she will be speaking to the priest soon. Thank you

 

[HomeschoolDad]

What would be the harm of just going through a baptism sub conditione? If she is not baptized, this would do it. If she was in fact baptized, no harm done. It doesn’t have a downside.

 

[MNathaniel]

The Catholic Church can offer what’s called a ‘conditional baptism’ if the validity of her baptism cannot be confirmed. If it was done by a layman at home (so presumably no baptismal certificate or other written record memorializing the form?) it may be hard to prove that the form was correct: i.e. baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. (If the layman just said something like, “I baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ,” that doesn’t count.)

So if the form cannot be recalled/proven, the Church wouldn’t necessarily declare one way or another (there’s no metal detector for the authentically baptized, that beeps when it hovers over us – and maybe that layman randomly did everything right!) – but she can be offered the ‘conditional baptism’, which basically will be a real sacramental baptism if she never received it before, but won’t have any new sacramental effect if she has already received the once-for-all baptism. She’ll just be certain, this time.

Love in Christ! Hope your sister has a fruitful conversation with her priest, that brings peace to her heart (and that she gets that conditional baptism, just in case.)

 

[Kindnessmatters]

This situation arose when I adopted my son. Word was that he had been baptised but I could not get proof or a baptismal certificate. So, I arranged with my parish to bring him to church for a special blessing. It was pretty similar to a baptism but the blessing presumed he had been baptised before. He was given a baptismal certificate and candle. Father noticed my son’s curiosity about the church, as it was empty but for the three of us, so they walked around and the priest answered my son’s questions. Of course a statue of St. Michael caught my son’s eye because he had a sword and shield.

The priest asked my son if he could be counted on to pray to St. Michael sometimes to keep evil away and my son thought that was kind of cool. A few days later, the church called me to say Fr. Had left a packet for me. I went to pick it up …it was the baptismal certificate, a Catholic coloring book, and a St. Michael medal with a kind note.

It was a bit strange because I was divorced from an atheist (he consented to the blessing but did not come) and the rest of the family lived out of state so it was just my son and I after school one day. I took him to dinner to talk about what the blessing meant and it was a sweet evening with my son.

 

[Gorgias]

What would be the harm of just going through a baptism sub conditione ?

It’s not just a case of “no harm, no foul”, because all due diligence is supposed to be exhausted before attempting a conditional baptism. In this case, there are two witnesses who were present at the baptism – her parents – so they could attest to the baptism and it can be entered into the appropriate parish’s sacramental register. The Church doesn’t perform conditional baptisms just because it’s easier to do so.

It doesn’t have a downside.

The downside is that it creates the impression that we can ignore a potentially valid baptism and just go with an easy “do-over”.

If it was done by a layman at home (so presumably no baptismal certificate or other written record memorializing the form?) it may be hard to prove that the form was correct

Right. But the parents should have the opportunity to attest to the question of whether the form and matter were proper.

 

[Vico]

Wow I did not know this. I would like to read the CCC on this. I think she will be speaking to the priest soon. Thank you

CIC (Latin Canon Law)

Can 869 §2. Those baptized in a non-Catholic ecclesial community must not be baptized conditionally unless, after an examination of the matter and the form of the words used in the conferral of baptism and a consideration of the intention of the baptized adult and the minister of the baptism, a serious reason exists to doubt the validity of the baptism.

 

[JulianN]

The question should be whether it was a valid baptism, not whether it was a Catholic baptism. If this woman was baptized, for example, by an Episcopalian layman or a Methodist layman, her baptism would be just as valid as if she had been baptized by the Pope himself.

I was asking because, even if baptized by a lay person in an emergency, a Catholic baptism should then be registered at the child’s parish.