Glad You Asked: Who can baptize a baby?

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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This verse, sometimes called the Great Commission, includes a mandate to perform baptisms. But does that mean Jesus was telling everyone to go out and baptize? In the gospel passage, Jesus is speaking only to the eleven men who were closest to him, sometimes called the apostles. Traditionally, Catholics have believed that those eleven men were the first priests, and that this is why the mandate to baptize was directed at them.  

But does that mean only priests can perform baptisms? And does it mean that a person who is able to baptize should do so any time they get a chance, even if the person hasn’t asked for baptism, doesn’t want it, or is too young to make the decision? What about if a person was adamant about rejecting baptism, but is now unconscious, and dying? Should a good Catholic try to get them baptized anyway? 

On this episode of Glad You Asked, Claretian Father Paul Keller talks to the hosts about the church’s rules around baptism: who can baptize, who can be baptized, and what makes a baptism valid. Keller is the provincial superior for the USA-Canada Chapter of the Claretian Missionaries and a frequent contributor to U.S. Catholic on issues relating to pastoral ministry, public policy, theology, and ethics. 

You can learn more about this topic, and read some of Keller’s writing, in these links. 

• “Baptism, not piety, is what makes us Catholic,” by Don Clemmer
• “3 things Catholics should remember about baptism,” by John Kyler
• “Why does baptism have to be so wet?” by Victoria M. Tufano
• “Should confirmation be for adults only?” by Father Paul Keller, C.M.F.
• “Can a priest withhold communion from a Catholic?” by Father Paul Keller, C.M.F.

Glad You Asked is sponsored by the Claretian Missionaries USA, an order of Catholic priests and brothers who live and work with the most vulnerable among us. To learn more, visit claretians.org.