Baptism is the first sacrament of Christian initiation and is the basis of the whole Christian life. It is a gateway to the spiritual life, a door that opens for us the opportunity to receive the other sacraments. Once given, Baptism is a sacrament that cannot be repeated. Only those who have never been baptized can be baptized.

The essential rite of Baptism consists in immersing the candidate in water or pouring water on his head, while pronouncing the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the fruit of Baptism, it’s baptismal grace is that it gives each one of us “forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1279)

After receiving this sacrament, each person becomes configured to Christ as Baptism seals each Christian with the indelible spiritual mark of belonging to Christ.