Catholic priest resigns after decades of performing baptisms incorrectly

A Catholic priest in Phoenix has resigned following the revelation that he had baptized thousands of people with a one-word error during the sacrament.

The Archdiocese of Phoenix confirmed that Rev. Andres Arango had incorrectly performed Catholic baptisms by using the blessing “we baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,” during the Christening, instead of saying “I baptize you…” as is instructed by the Vatican. 

Arango apologized for his error in a letter of his resignation, writing, “It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula. I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere.”

The head of the Archdiocese of Phoenix, Bishop Olmsted, addressed those who may have been baptized by Arango, explaining the error that rendered their baptisms “invalid” and assuring that they may be re-baptized. 

“The key phrase in question is the use of ‘We baptize’ in place of ‘I baptize.’ The issue with using ‘We’ is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is Christ, and Him alone, who presides at all of the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptizes,” wrote Olmsted.

The Archdiocese of Phoenix provided a form on its page addressing “valid baptisms” for people to fill out if they were baptized by Arango, alongside a series of frequently asked questions and answers about the invalid baptisms performed.