When walking into a Catholic church today, you may see a baptismal font much larger than the one in which you were baptized. It may have a raised bowl large enough for the immersion of an infant. It may occupy an area on the floor that’s wide, long, and deep enough for adults to enter. For Catholics used to a long tradition of baptism by pouring a short stream of water across the head and into a shallow bowl, the switch is surprising.

For some Catholics, it may even be troubling. They associate baptism by immersion with other Christian denominations. They are proud of their Catholicity and don’t want to adopt beliefs and practices contrary to the tradition in which they were formed.
But actually, immersion is a very Catholic way of baptizing. It is one of two methods that have long been permitted within the Roman Catholic Church, and although it hasn’t been broadly practiced in the Roman Rite, Eastern Catholic Churches have been baptizing by immersion for centuries.

The increasing popularity of baptizing by immersion is probably related to a liturgical principle favored by the Second Vatican Council: the expressive use of signs. This is why we promote such ideas as wearing noble vestments, reading from a beautiful Book of the Gospels, and receiving Communion under both species. When used richly, these signs respond to the spiritual needs of the community.

The same is true of robust singing, a sincere exchange of peace, a well-placed crucifix—and the method of baptism. Immersion is a very expressive sign that can uplift our faith in the meaning of this sacrament.

So what is the meaning of this sacrament of initiation? Many Catholics learned that the main purpose for baptism is to remove original sin. Baptism does that, but its meaning is much broader. A definition of baptism published in the afterglow of the Second Vatican Council stressed other aspects of the sacrament. According to “Christian Initiation: General Introduction,” which opens the official ritual books for Catholic baptisms, “Baptism incorporates us into Christ and forms us into God’s people.” That is a very different starting point than original sin. The Introduction goes on to say, “This first sacrament pardons all our sins, rescues us from the power of darkness, and brings us to the dignity of adopted children, a new creation through water and the Holy Spirit. Hence we are called and are indeed the children of God” (2).