The Story of Your Baptism

[dominicansoul]

It was an unusually cold wintery day in Texas.

I was one week old, January 10, 1971 to be precise.  My mother could not be there, because she was still bedridden (I'd given her a hard time during delivery. It was my huge head, I'm sure...)  Just my dad and my Godmother (my late aunt Margaret, my dad's sister), Fr. Ruiz and God were present.  I have no idea where my six siblings were, probably being taken care of by my mom's saintly mom (who died when I was only 6 months old )

 

This was before Tradition was completely removed from my parish, so as far as I know, Fr. Ruiz baptized me using the Latin Rite.  (Or he might have used Spanish, he was Mexican after all...I reallydon't recall   )

 

 

I was baptized with the name on my birth certificate.  I wore a little white gown sewn by my mother that no longer exists today.  There are no pictures of this event.  But had there been, it would have been taken by a camera using kodachrome film or an instant polaroid...

I'm honored to have been born on the day the Church celebrates the Holy Name of Jesus.  I also share the baptismal date of Christ (January 10 or around there is usually when the Church celebrates His Baptism.)

[Catherine Therese]

How old were you? 22 days old.

Where did it happen? In the same church where my parents were married, in Sydney, Australia.

Do you know the date? Yep. 25th October.

Who was there? Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, my cousin David, some friends of my parents. 

Do you know who the priest was? Fr Roderick Bray (God rest his soul... he died 6 weeks after I entered religious life in 2011... only 3 weeks after celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination! He was a saintly pastor.)

Who are your godparents: My maternal grandfather and my eldest paternal aunt. 

How did your parents know them: hard not to know people you grew up with!

Do you keep in touch? Sure do Blessed to have them still around.

Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? I was baptised with the name on my birth certificate, which included a saint's name. Therese is one of my middle names. 

Did you wear anything special? Yes - a white baptismal gown that 5 of my 10 younger siblings wore. Sibling #6, Luke, died in infancy, and was buried in the baptismal gown. Subsequent siblings wore something different as a result. 

Do you have pictures? Probably, but not handy. 

Also fun: baptism of one of my nephews - was the very first baptism performed by a newly ordained priest in Sydney. That newly ordained priest was the brother of an ex-boyfriend of mine, and he went to school with my brother, so naturally when my brother's son came along around the time babyPriest was ordained, it was only right to ask babyPriest to baptise my nephew, who was named for the babyPriest in question. 

Edited October 12, 2015 by Catherine Therese

[CrossCuT]

My baptism had to be investigated because the church was bad and potentially used the wrong words. Turns everything was ok and Im a rightful child of the lord jesus christ.

[Basilisa Marie]

Oooh this is great!!!

 

How old were you? - just over two months. They waited until family could be in town. 

Where did it happen? - Prince of Peace in Lake Villa, IL. 

Do you know the date? February 12, 1989

Who was there? My parents, my grandparents (including my Lutheran set!), my godparents and maybe their spouses and some cousins?

Do you know who the priest was? Fr. Richard Fassbinder. He was later credibly accused of (and admitted to) having a sexual relationship with a minor that began when the minor was 16 and lasted about 15 years (while he was pastor of Prince of Peace). The case was brought in 2001 and he died in 2004. It's likely the person was his only victim. 

Who are your godparents, how did your parents know them, do you keep in touch? My uncle is my godfather, and my aunt is a Christian Witness (Lutheran). I don't keep in touch very often but I did gets cards from them for First Communion and Confirmation. 

Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? My name! 

Did you wear anything special? My dad went on a business trip to Korea and brought back some silk for my mom's wedding dress. My great-grandmother made the extra silk into baptismal gowns for me and my two siblings. 

Do you have pictures? Probably somewhere. My mom had big hair and shoulder pads, my dad had more hair and a dark suit, all in a kinda ugly Vatican II style parish, with lots of snow on the ground outside. 

[vee]

How old were you? - One month and three days old

Where did it happen? - At the same parish I attend now where I also received all the other usual Sacraments.

Do you know the date?  - Feb 10 the feast of St Scholastica

Who was there? - My parents, godparents, bunch of other babies and their entourages

Do you know who the priest was? - I know his name from my baptism certificate but nothing else besides.  Googling reveals he is deceased but that is all.

Who are your godparents, how did your parents know them, do you keep in touch? - Yes I know their names, they were good friends with my mom.  I dont know why it happened but it seems shortly after my baptism their friendship ended.  I never knew or heard from my godparents until two years ago when my mom took me to meet them. 

Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? - my name

Did you wear anything special? Do you have pictures?  I wore a pretty little baptism gown that my sister probably wore too.  Yes I have pics.  I still even have my candle. 

[Lilllabettt]

i'm pleasantly surprised how many older baptisms we have.

[TheresaThoma]

This is a really fun thread. Maybe we should start another one with First Eucharist or Confirmation!

[Luigi]

Two weeks old. St. Francis parish in Wilmington, Delaware. We're not from there, but Dad had a job there for a year or so, and that's when & where I made my debut. My godparents are my Uncle Joe  and Aunt June (Mom's older brother and his wife), but they couldn't get to Delaware, so I had stand-in godparents, too. The woman was named Kitty - she lived in the same apartment building as the folks and befriended them as soon as she met them. The folks eventually named one of my sisters after her. I don't know who the stand-in godfather was. I don't remember the priest's name, but Mom does. We all used the same baptismal gown, which I believe my mom's Aunt Elise sewed by hand. 

[cartermia]

How old were you? 2 Years Old

Where did it happen? St. Michael Church (my home parish)

Do you know the date? Yep, it was the Blessed Mother and my birthday's September 8th, 2001

 Who was there? A lot of my family; my three older siblings (ages 7, 5, 5), parents, grandparents (on mother's side only I believe), aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins.

Do you know who the priest was? Yes, he was transferred and now he is defrocked because of some stuff that he did.

Who are your godparents, how did your parents know them, do you keep in touch? My grandparents are my aunt, Mary Ann, and my Granddaddy. Mary Ann is my mom's sister and my Granddaddy was my mother's dad. We keep in touch with my aunt, her kids go to my school and we hang out a lot. My Granddaddy passed away on January 13th of this year so I do not physically keep in touch with him but I know he is watching over me and assisting me.

Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? I was baptized with my birth name. (fun fact) My mother says my middle name is Mía  which is Spanish for mine because I am God's alone and belong to no one else.

 Did you wear anything special? A white baptismal dress

Do you have pictures? Probably but I don't know where they are and I truly don't care to see myself as a baby.

[PhuturePriest]

I'm teaching 7th grade church school, and something I"m making them do is research their baptism and tell the story  to the class.

I would like to hear about Phatmass baptism stories.

How old were you? Where did it happen? Do you know the date? Who was there? Do you know who the priest was? Who are your godparents, how did your parents know them, do you keep in touch? Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? Did you wear anything special? Do you have pictures? 

Maybe you remember the baptism of a younger brother or sister. If you do, tell me about it. 

Maybe you didn't get baptized till you were older and you remember every detail. Tell me about it!

How old were you? Three months

Where did it happen? Saint Joseph's Catholic Church in Greensburg, KS

Do you know the date? The Feast of the Epiphany, 1997

Who was there? Grandparents, friends, etc. 

Do you know who the Priest was? Father Flaggor

Godparents: My godmother is dead, and I never knew her very well. My godfather is a friend of my dad's, but as he lives in Texas I don't speak with him very much.

Fun fact: I was baptized by water from the Jordan River. Father Flaggor was newly ordained and went on a trip to the Holy Land, and he brought water from the Jordan River with him. I was his first baptism after ordination.

 

[Gabriela]

How old were you? Three months

Where did it happen? Saint Joseph's Catholic Church in Greensburg, KS

Do you know the date? The Feast of the Epiphany, 1997

Who was there? Grandparents, friends, etc. 

Do you know who the Priest was? Father Flaggor

Godparents: My godmother is dead, and I never knew her very well. My godfather is a friend of my dad's, but as he lives in Texas I don't speak with him very much.

Fun fact: I was baptized by water from the Jordan River. Father Flaggor was newly ordained and went on a trip to the Holy Land, and he brought water from the Jordan River with him. I was his first baptism after ordination.

 

You were baptized on Epiphany?! No wonder I like you!

 

Also, this reminds me of a story. When I was about to be baptized, the Scandinavian Lutheran pastor who baptized me had me over to his home so he could explain what would happen at the baptism. The conversation went like this:

Jan: [bunch of stuff about baptismal logistics]

Me: You know, I was thinking the other day, as Andreas was telling me about the fjords, that it would be so cool to be baptized with water straight from the ice caps. I mean, it'd be so pure and crisp and cold—you'd totally feel that. And to be baptized in a river like that in the great outdoors of Norway... I mean, that'd just be amesome.

Jan: Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss..... A lot of foreigners like to come to Israel to be baptized in the Jordan. They think it somehow makes them "more baptized" or that they'll be holier, or that it's a "more authentic baptism" because it's where Jesus was baptized. But all baptisms are equal, and that's just superstitious theological misunderstanding... [10-minute rant about the theology of baptism]

Me: Huh. Yeah. But still, IT WOULD BE SO amesome!

Edited October 16, 2015 by Gabriela

[Freedom]

How old were you? A baby.

Where did it happen? In my state.

Do you know the date? It's on my birth certificate.

Who was there? My folks and godparents.

Do you know who the priest was? A Father.

Who are your godparents? My aunt and uncle.

How did your parents know them?  My aunt is my mummy's sissy.

Do you keep in touch? Kinda. 

Were you baptized with the name on your birth certificate or a saints name? Mines.  It's a saints name too; but I wasn't named after that saint.

Did you wear anything special? A white dress.

 Do you have pictures? Yes.

 

Edited October 19, 2015 by Freedom
I felt like it.

[Freedom]

 

I baptized myself. Sike. The pastor of the church. I think he has passed away since then or is retired. I am pretty sure that even a non-Christian can baptize, but I am not 100% sure of that.

LOL. I was a little worried for a second because this girl I dated briefly a couple years ago told me almost the same exact story. But it was her grandmother that did the secret baptism. I don't know how that works - because a person can only be validly baptized once. I guess you can consider the time you got baptized at church a conditional baptism, in the case that your bathtub baptism was not done properly. But your bathtub baptism was your "real" baptism as long as it was done with the proper formula, I think.

 

It is done so incase the baby dies before they can get a formal baptism.  My mummy does it.

[Nihil Obstat]

It is done so incase the baby dies before they can get a formal baptism.  My mummy does it.

That really should only be done in danger of death. Otherwise "they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it."

[Freedom]

That really should only be done in danger of death. Otherwise "they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it."

It was done for a just in case situation.  Sue me.