Baptistry

You have probably seen or attended a baptism for a baby, but have you ever attended a baptism for an adult? Adults are baptized through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, or RCIA. They are baptized on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil Mass. The place where people are baptized is called the baptistry. The large pool of water is called the baptismal font. Water is used as a sign of new life. During Jesus' time and for a period after that, people were baptized in rivers, lakes and pools. They were totally immersed in the water! Today, some churches do baptism by immersion and others pour water on the head of the person being baptized. The large candle beside the font is the Easter candle, or Paschal candle. It is present to remind us of the light of Christ

Holy Water Fonts

The holy water fonts are placed at the entrances to the church. People bless themselves with holy water when they enter and leave the church as a sign of their own baptism. We all belong to the family of God because of our baptism.