Baptisms are celebrated weekly (except during Lent) after the 4:15 pm Saturday Mass and after the 10:30 am Sunday Mass. Baptisms may be celebrated during a weekend Mass. There are no baptisms during the Lenten Season.

Since Pentecost the sacrament of Baptism has been celebrated as we understand it. The word baptism comes from the Greek  baptizein which means to "plunge" or "immerse". The catechumen's immersion into the water symbolizes Christ's death from which they rise up and share in His resurrection into new life.

Christ commanded his disciples to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and he affirms the necessity for salvation. However, while God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, God is not bound to his sacraments.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition:
The meaning and grace is evident through the rite. Briefly walking through the rite, the sign of the cross marks the person who will belong to Christ and "signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by his cross." The proclamation of the Word of God is to enlighten the candidates and assembly with the revealed truth. The faith response of this truth is inseparable from the sacrament. The person is anointed with the oil of catechumens to prepare them to profess the faith of the Church. The invocation over the water asks the power of the Holy Spirit be sent upon the water so that persons baptized may be born of water and Spirit. The essential rite is then performed, the immersion into the water. This is followed by a post-baptismal anointing, which announces the second anointing of Confirmation, to be administered later, to "confirm" and complete the baptismal sacrament.

The white garment symbolizes that the person baptized has "put on Christ," has risen with Christ. The candle, lit from the Easter candle, signifies that Christ has enlightened the neophyte. In him, the baptized are "the light of the world."

For sacramental records from St. Anthony, contact:
Tina Masterson
Pastoral Associate
574-282-2308
church@stasb.org