Private baptism

[Florida123]

Can Baptism be celebrated in the OF Form in private with only the family present?
I ask because my local Parish only does public Baptisms with many babies.

If it can be done in private what is done in the Rite?

 

[1ke]

Yes, it is possible. That does not mean that any particular priest must do so. The priest has authority over when, where, and how baptisms are celebrated in his parish.

It is the norm to conduct baptisms within the context of the Mass.

 

[asia53]

Our parish priest schedules baby baptism for early Saturday afternoon, one baby, the family, and guests. I’ve never seen a multiple baby baptism done.

 

[929dad]

They way I’ve heard it explained is that baptism, as a sacrament of initiation, is about the baby (or child or adult) being initiated into the Church, not into their families. That being said, it is preferable to celebrate the sacrament in the midst of the community of faith.

My son was baptized during Mass, along with 3 other babies, and it was really nice to be able to celebrate with the congregation and our family

That doesn’t mean that it’s illicit to have it done outside of Mass and without the congregation present, however.

 

[NewEnglandPriest]

Can Baptism be celebrated in the OF Form in private with only the family present?

Yes. I do baptisms after the last Sunday Mass once a month. These normally include several families. However a family can request a private baptism for a variety of reasons and I my best to accommodate them.

If it can be done in private what is done in the Rite?

Rite of Baptism

 

[jpjd]

My priest prefers to celebrate a baby’s baptism at Mass, as it is a joyous occasion for the parish to witness the sacrament and welcome a new member into the Body of Christ. However, there may be instances where this is not feasible.

For example, my own son’s baptism (years ago) was a “private” baptism done in the afternoon, because all of my and my husband’s family lives out of town. We only have one Sunday Mass, and to ask everyone to come the night before and stay in a hotel was too much to ask. So the priest agreed to do it Sunday afternoon so everyone would have time to drive up in the morning.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Baptisms are not really meant to be private. In my current parish, baptisms are done on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, outside of Mass, just because our parish is so large. There are usually more than one family at each baptism. Since the families have to go through some time of preparation, they get to know each other and become friendly.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Can Baptism be celebrated in the OF Form in private with only the family present?
I ask because my local Parish only does public Baptisms with many babies.

If it can be done in private what is done in the Rite?

I think this happens because in many parishes baptisms are not celebrated every week. They’re often only celebrated monthly so there’s several families having their babies baptised at one time.