by CNA Staff Vienna, Austria, Oct 22, 2021 / 13:00 pm Eleven people from Afghanistan are among the 27 adults who will soon be baptized as Catholics in Austria’s Vienna archdiocese. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna formally welcomed the candidates for adult baptism at a ceremony on Oct. 20 at …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Oct 20, 2021 / 06:10 am There will be no godfathers named in the Sicilian archdiocese of Catania for the next three years due to a decree issued by the archbishop that came into full effect this month. Archbishop Salvatore Gristina of Catania has said …

Many parents these days are taking the “wait and see” approach with religion, not having their children baptized and letting them decide when they’re older.

by Hannah Brockhaus Rome Newsroom, Jan 10, 2021 / 03:52 pm MT (CNA).- For the first time in over 54 years, the Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land were able to offer Mass on their property at the site of Christ’s baptism, located in the West Bank. …

Why did Jesus need to be baptized? If Jesus is God, wouldn’t baptism be unnecessary? Many have considered this question throughout history, so it is a good one. When Jesus approached John the Baptist to be baptized, John replied, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are …

Vatican City, Jan 5, 2021 / 05:10 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis will not baptize babies in the Sistine Chapel this Sunday due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Holy See press office announced Jan. 5 that the newborns would be baptized instead in their home parishes. “Due to the health …

CNA Staff, Sep 23, 2020 / 08:00 am MT (CNA).- The son of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was baptized a Catholic earlier this month, the Diocese of Westminster said Tuesday. In a statement Sept. 22, the diocese said: “We can confirm that Wilfred Johnson was baptized in Westminster Cathedral …

by JD Flynn Denver Newsroom, Aug 25, 2020 / 03:55 pm MT (CNA).- When a priest is ordained, his hands are anointed with oil. They are then wiped clean with a white linen cloth — it’s called a maniturgium. There is a custom, hundreds of years old, in which each …

by Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, Aug 24, 2020 / 05:24 pm MT (CNA).- Last week, the news broke that Father Matthew Hood of the Archdiocese of Detroit had this summer learned that he was not validly baptized— despite believing that he had been ordained a priest in 2017. Hood thought …

CNA Staff, Aug 22, 2020 / 04:00 am MT (CNA).- The Catholic Church in Belgium has reported a significant rise in adult baptisms. CathoBel, the website of the Catholic Church in Belgium, reported Aug. 20 that 305 adults will be baptized this year, an increase of 61 compared to 2019. …