Since most baptisms in the Catholic Church occur with infants, is there a traditional age at which the sacrament is given?

lanfranco

I'm assuming you mean First Communion, which is traditionally given to children at the age of 7 or 8 -- or when they have reached the age of "reason" or "discretion." It can be given earlier if a child is in danger of death, or later, if a priest judges it best: http://www.answers.com/topic/first-communion Jul 18 05, 11:06 AM

barker111

If you mean baptism it would be a few weeks after birth. Jul 18 05, 11:43 AM

lanfranco

If you do mean baptism, LP (I may have read your question a little hastily), so far as I know, you can have your newborn baptized as soon as you can find a priest to do it. It's often done almost immediately for Catholic babies who are born with medical problems. Many churches, however, set aside particular Sundays for baptisms, so in normal circumstances, parents might have to wait for a scheduled baptismal day. On the other hand, I believe the general preference is for infants to be baptized within one month after birth. Jul 18 05, 12:21 PM

robboy

Which is a longer way of saying it's usually within a few weeks, huh Frankie? Jul 18 05, 2:16 PM

LeakyPickle

:) So not a specific age, but about a month after birth. Thanks! Jul 18 05, 2:45 PM

lanfranco

Nope, robboy, just that you're not supposed to wait longer than a month. The sooner you can manage it, the better. Haven't you have any Catholic friends who've regaled you with their Catholic School "nun's tales" about all of the poor little unbaptized babies in "limbus infantium"? Actually, I think John Paul II made it clear that in Catholic theology, no one knows what happens to unbaptized babies, but I know a few people who were throughly traumatized by the limbo concept. Jul 18 05, 2:55 PM

bloomsby

Leafy. Infant baptism is common in most of the larger Christian demoninations. On the whole, the age varies with from a day or so after birth to a few weeks. Unless the child's life is in danger, the date varies with local custom and also with practical considerations. For example, if one or more of the godparents lives far away and is busy the family may have to wait a few weeks - though sometimes a local friend can act as a 'proxy godparent' at the service. In many denominations it is considered highly desirable that baptisms should take place with a fair-sized congregation present. Hence a tendency to baptize at the main Sunday service. For example, the Church of England discourages a small service - just for the family and a few friends, and as far as I'm aware that applies in many other denominations, too. Jul 18 05, 5:23 PM

peasypod

If you have a couple hours spare to peruse this, I think you would find it very interesting: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#IX What I find intriguing is the Baptism of the un-born child.....oh, and the insane... Jul 18 05, 11:34 PM

Stew54

Nice link peasy, but those examples aren't so strange to my mind as the baptism of the dead. My dad has used the IGI (genealogical index) produced by the LDS church to help him with his family history hobby and has found quite a number of our ancestors who have been rebaptised by the church perhaps a hundred years after their death and maybe 150 years after they were first baptised as infants. Jul 19 05, 2:26 AM

lanfranco

The Mormon practice of baptizing the dead has been quite controversial among many groups, particularly Jews, who don't much care for the idea that their ancestors have supposedly been turned into posthumous Mormons by these baptisms. On the other hand, as Stew mentions, the practice has resulted in an amazing collection of genealogical records gathered from all over the world and available to anyone doing family history research. According to a "New Yorker" article I once read, some of those records date back to the 16th century and the Mormons are amassing more all the time. Jul 19 05, 6:00 AM