My name is Marisa, and in just under a month I will give birth to a beautiful baby boy, whom we have decided to name Francesco. My husband is an atheist, and we are not married. I am not exactly a “believer” either: I never go to Mass… I do not pray… I do not turn to God in difficult moments. And yet, now that Francesco is about to come into the world, we are beginning to wonder whether we can have our son baptized…
Like Marisa, many parents in our current diverse cultural context feel the need to find answers to some questions about their children's Baptism. Let us try to shed some light.
What is Baptism
Baptism is the first of the sacraments, and we could define it as the foundation of the entire Christian life, because it is the door that allows Christ to dwell within us and enables us to immerse ourselves in his mystery.
Who can receive Baptism
It is usually administered to very young children, and it is their mother and father who request it for them. To be baptized, one must believe in Jesus, and children are not yet capable of expressing an act of faith. They are baptized in the faith professed by their parents and in the faith of the Church, which nourishes and supports that of the family.
Adults can also receive Baptism. For the Church, in fact, anyone who has not yet been baptized can receive this sacrament, regardless of their age.
To ask for their child's Baptism, do parents have to be baptized?
Baptism concerns the person who receives it, and therefore even unbaptized parents may request Baptism for their children, but they must commit to accompanying the child in discovering the Christian faith and enrolling the child in catechism classes. In these cases, the role of the godfather or godmother, who supports that of the parents, takes on significant importance.
Can cohabiting parents or parents married only in a civil ceremony have their child baptized?
Here too, the answer is yes: Baptism is a free gift that God gives the child. The difficulty that may arise in this case concerns possible disagreement between the parents about the plan to initiate the child into the Christian faith. Nevertheless, the Church always affirms every person's and every child's right to receive Baptism.
Can an unbaptized person be chosen as a godfather or godmother?
No, because the role of the godfather and godmother is not simply a matter of friendship or emotional kinship. Their main role is to represent the Christian community and bear witness to the faith of the Church before the child and the child's parents.
Can anyone be the child's godfather or godmother?
The Church requires them to be at least 16 years old, baptized, confirmed, and to have received the Eucharist. Since they must fulfill the task of educating the child in the faith, they cannot live in a way that contradicts or differs from Christian life (e.g., being divorced, remarried, or cohabiting).
Baptism is a choice that belongs to the parents. It is a great gift that a father and mother can decide to give their child. What greater gift could there be than allowing Christ to live in us and allowing us to live united with him?
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