Baptism and Confirmation

The big question

Babies cannot believe or choose anything. So why does the Church baptise them instead of waiting until they can decide for themselves? And if Baptism is necessary for salvation, what happens to those who die without it?

What the Church teaches

Baptism takes away original sin and all personal sin, and all punishment due to sin, gives new birth as a child of God, and makes the baptised a member of Christ and his Church (Trent, Session V, canon 5, DH 1515; CCC 1262–1274).

Baptism is necessary for salvation (Trent, Session VII, Baptism canon 5; DH 1618; CCC 1257).

Infant baptism is valid and right (Trent, Session V, canon 4, DH 1514; Session VII, Baptism canon 13, DH 1626; CCC 1250–1252).

Confirmation is a true sacrament, which completes baptismal grace with the special strength of the Holy Spirit (Trent, Session VII, Confirmation canon 1; DH 1628; CCC 1285).

How sure is this? De fide.

Those who die for Christ without baptism (baptism of blood), and those who desire baptism but die before receiving it (baptism of desire), are saved (Trent, Session VI, ch. 4, DH 1524; CCC 1258–1259).

How sure is this? Certain.

Children who die unbaptised are entrusted to God’s mercy, and the Church hopes for their salvation (CCC 1261).

Where it comes from

Scripture. Jesus says, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5), and sends the apostles to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). At Pentecost Peter preaches, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). St Paul explains that Baptism unites us with Christ’s death and Resurrection (Romans 6:3–4).

Acts records whole households being baptised, which would ordinarily have included children (Acts 16:15, 33). And Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

Confirmation appears in Acts. After Philip baptised people in Samaria, the apostles Peter and John came and “laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:17). Paul did the same at Ephesus (Acts 19:5–6).

The early Church. Origen (died about 253) wrote that the Church had received from the apostles the tradition of baptising infants. The Apostolic Tradition, an early church order traditionally attributed to St Hippolytus, gives instructions for baptising children, with parents answering for those who cannot answer for themselves.

How theologians explain it

What Baptism does.

Effect	Explanation
Forgiveness	All sins, original and personal, and all punishment due to them
New birth	We become adopted children of God and receive sanctifying grace
Incorporation	We become members of Christ’s Body, the Church
Character	A permanent spiritual mark, so Baptism is never repeated

Why baptise infants? Because Baptism is above all God’s gift, not our achievement. Children receive many good things before they can choose them: life, a family, a language, care. Parents give these for their good, and grace is the greatest good. The faith of the Church and of the parents carries the child until the child can make that faith their own, which Confirmation and a whole life of faith continue (CCC 1250–1255).

Necessity, rightly understood. The Catechism puts it carefully: God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments (CCC 1257). The ordinary way is sacramental Baptism. Those who die for the faith before Baptism (baptism of blood) or who desire it but die before receiving it (baptism of desire) receive its fruit without the sacrament. Lesson 9.4 explained how this extends, through implicit desire, to those who have never heard of Christ.

Unbaptised infants. For centuries many theologians held that infants who die unbaptised go to limbo: a state of natural happiness without the vision of God. This was a theological hypothesis, never defined. The Catechism does not mention limbo; it entrusts these children to God’s mercy and speaks of hope for their salvation (CCC 1261). In 2007 the International Theological Commission concluded that there are serious grounds for hope that they are saved.

What Confirmation adds. Confirmation completes Baptism. It gives the Holy Spirit in a special way, as at Pentecost, deepens the grace of Baptism, unites us more firmly to Christ and the Church, increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and strengthens us to witness to the faith. Like Baptism, it imprints a character and is received once (CCC 1302–1305). In the Latin Church the bishop is its ordinary minister; in the Eastern churches priests confirm infants immediately after Baptism.

Philosophy bridge

The philosophy course’s Ethics branch discusses how parents rightly act on behalf of children who cannot yet act for themselves, for their good. Infant baptism rests partly on this principle. The child’s own free response comes later, but the gift is real from the start.

What the Church does not claim

• Not that baptised babies are forced into faith. They receive a gift; their free response grows over a lifetime.
• Not that unbaptised infants are damned. The Church entrusts them to God’s mercy with real hope.
• Not that limbo is Church teaching. It was a theological hypothesis.
• Not that Confirmation is a “graduation” from the Church. It is a gift of the Spirit for a lifetime of witness.

Check your understanding

1. Name three effects of Baptism.

Show answer

Any three of: forgiveness of all sins and their punishment; new birth as a child of God; membership in Christ’s Body, the Church; a permanent character.

2. What evidence is there that infants were baptised in the early Church?

Show answer

Acts records whole households being baptised; Origen says the Church received the practice from the apostles; and the Apostolic Tradition gives instructions for baptising children.

3. Explain baptism of blood and baptism of desire.

Show answer

Baptism of blood: dying for Christ before being baptised. Baptism of desire: desiring baptism but dying before receiving it. Both receive the fruit of Baptism without the sacrament.

4. What does the Church teach about infants who die without baptism? Is limbo Church teaching?

Show answer

The Church entrusts them to God’s mercy and hopes for their salvation (CCC 1261). Limbo was a theological hypothesis, never defined; it is not Church teaching.

5. What does Confirmation add to Baptism?

Show answer

It completes baptismal grace by giving the Holy Spirit in a special way, unites us more firmly to Christ and the Church, increases the gifts of the Spirit, and strengthens us to witness to the faith.