Can a non-priest perform a baptism? If so, how is it done and when is it appropriate?
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, “Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament” (1257). Our Lord himself told Nicodemus that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
Because baptism is the one sacrament necessary for salvation, it is the easiest to receive. We see this ease in the matter of the sacrament – water, the basic sustenance of life – as well as in the minister. Ordinarily, a bishop or priest (or, in the Western church, a deacon) administers the sacrament; but, if necessary, anyone can validly do so.
People are sometimes surprised to learn that a non-Christian or even an atheist can perform a baptism. As long as he or she says the correct words (“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”) and puts “living water” (that is, water that flows in some manner) in contact with the body of the person being baptized, then the baptism is real.
The person administering the sacrament simply has to intend to do what the Church does in baptism. He or she does not have to know anything about baptism or sacramental theology. Rather he must wish, if only implicitly, to baptize, even if he has no idea what that entails. In other words, he just cannot explicitly not want a baptism to take place while administering it. That’s a pretty minimal criterion.
It used to be quite common for hospital nurses to know how to baptize. In fact, every Catholic should know how to administer the sacrament in case the need ever arises. The fact that we can do something, however, doesn’t necessarily mean we should. A layperson should baptize only in an emergency such as a sudden illness, accident or natural disaster in which the unbaptized person is in imminent danger of death and a priest or deacon is not readily available.
If the newly baptized person survives, he or she (or in the case of a child, his or her parents) should contact their parish so that the baptism can be properly recorded and a ceremony arranged for other baptismal rites, such as the anointing with chrism and the presentation of a lighted candle. After that, a celebration is definitely in order!
Fr. Brian A. Graebe, STD
Pastor, Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral
Archways Magazine | Winter 2021