Genealogy Chat

many thanks to you both for replying. Hsa been useful and interesting carol

Hello again I think that actually being baptised more than once deliberately was the heresy (and I believe you'll find it still is that serious for at least some denominations). However, no baptism was the risk uppermost, I'm sure, as Janet says. Logically, if being baptised twice weren't a problem then they wouldn't need to make any baptism "conditional". Christine

Carol It is not so much that being baptised twice was a bad thing. Try to think of it in terms of the glass being half full rather than half empty. As far as Catholics were concerned, it was a case of the child not being baptised at all that would have been uppermost in the nuns minds and in those far off days, that was a terrible thing, as at that time it was thought that children were condemned to Limbo if they were not baptised and would never see heaven. Do remember that the mores of yesteryear are very different to todays standards and this is not considered in the same way today in Catholic circles. So in those far off days the child would have been baptised "again" and conditionally just in case she had not been baptised before. And it may seem harsh to us today, but the nuns would have had the child's best interests in their thoughts. Hope this helps. Janet

Hi Christine I didnt know being baptised twice was that bad, not that I know of anyone being baptised twice! Nice to know someone was being thoughtful about my nana. Very interesting, many thanks carol

Hi The beliefs you're dealing with are that it is heretical (Bad News in church-speak) to baptise twice - but leaves the immortal soul in danger if there's no baptism. In such a situation the baptism is conducted on a conditional basis (i.e., as has already been suggested, "just in case" - "this is a baptism ... if the child hasn't been baptised already".) Don't know if that helps? Christine

thanks for that Janet. Yes, it was catholic, was just wondering if it meant anything with the word conditionally stated. thanks

I presume this is a Catholic orphanage? Most catholics are baptised at birth and the nuns may not have known whether she had been baptised or not or even whether or not the parents were catholics and wished the child to be baptised, so if this was a catholic institution there would have been another baptism, just in case! Janet

Hi I have info that my grandmother arrived in St Marys, Tudhoe, Durham (in the care of the nuns) on May 3rd 1912 and it says that later she was baptised "conditionally" on May 27th. (didnt waste much time). She was aged 6years. Any ideas as to what this would mean? thanks, carol