A priest from the US state of Arizona has resigned from his parish after an investigation showed that baptisms he had performed for 20 years were invalid.
The Reverend Andres Arango of St Gregory Parish in Phoenix used the phrase “We baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” in thousands of celebrations over two decades, explained the region’s bishop, Thomas J. Olmsted, in a public letter. The problem is in the plural: the correct, according to the Church, is “I baptize you”.
“It is not the community that baptizes a person. It is Christ, and Christ alone, who presides over all the sacraments,” Olmsted wrote.
According to the bishop, the Vatican recently warned that baptisms are not valid when the formula is changed to “We baptize you” and that “even priests cannot add, remove or change anything in the liturgy on their own.”
Olmsted says in the letter that he does not believe Father Arango intentionally made the mistake.
Arango resigned from his post on 1 February. He wrote a letter to the faithful apologizing for the inconvenience caused.
“It saddens me to know that I performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest, regularly using an incorrect formula. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and how it has affected so many people,” he wrote, adding that he will dedicate himself “full time to helping to remedy the occurred”.
Bishop Olmsted asked the faithful baptized by Arango to contact the diocese for guidance. Since baptism is the first of all sacraments, some people will likely need to repeat other sacraments, such as marriage.
