Topic:  Can a woman baptize?

Source of this posting: Moderator response

Date originally posted: July 10, 2004

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question:   Can I baptize infants in a catholic church if I'm a divorced catholic who was married by the catholic church?

Answer: 

A deacon, priest, or a bishop ought normally to be the minister who baptizes -- infants or adults. In rare cases of extreme emergency, others may baptize.

In the 15th century the ecumenical Council of Florence (see the third paragraph from the bottom on http://www.catholicism.org/pages/florence.htm made clear that virtually anybody who has the intention of the Catholic Church in mind when actually baptizing can confer the Sacrament.

So the answer is yes, you probably could baptize, but you should be VERY careful about doing so only in cases where a priest is not available and when there is immediate danger to the unbaptized person.

Thank you for your question and blessings to you!