An Arizona priest is in resigned from Catholic Church after incorrectly performing thousands of baptisms over the years.
Fr. Andres Arango was reprimanded by the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix after using the wrong word during the ceremonies over two decades.
While performing the spiritual act, which is used to cleanse one’s spirit and represents forgiveness, Arango said, “We baptize you in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
However, instead of saying “we,” he was supposed to say “I” at the beginning of the scripture.
The Vatican instructs priests to say “I baptize,” and if it is not said that way the baptism is deemed invalid.
Church leaders investigated and determined last month that Father Arango had incorrectly performed thousands of baptisms over more than 20 years, meaning those he had baptized in Phoenix and at his previous parishes in Brazil and San Diego were not properly baptized.
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