Missing baptismal records can cause problems for marriage preparation

Published: 2004-06-21

ORLANDO, Fla. (CNS) -- Lisette Welch never gave her baptism a second thought until she was a few months shy of her wedding. As part of the preparation for being married in the Catholic Church, the 39-year-old lifelong Catholic needed proof of her baptism. She also needed to find out her husband's baptismal information, which she sought first. "Finding my fiance's certificate was a breeze. All I had to do was call up the parish in Providence, R.I., where he grew up and served as an altar boy," said Welch, a resident of Salem, N.H. "We had confirmation of the baptism at my parish (where she was to be married) within a week." Welch didn't anticipate any problems with her baptismal records, until her mother threw a monkey wrench into the works: They weren't living in Bronx, N.Y., when Welch was born, as she had thought, and her mother couldn't recall the name of the church where Welch was baptized. "She said it was somewhere in upper Manhattan," Welch told The Florida Catholic, newspaper of the Orlando Diocese. Welch thought her grandfather, an Orlando resident, might remember the church. He said he thought it was on the Upper East Side of New York and gave her some vague landmarks. She told her mother what he said. Then her mother remembered: St. Catherine of Siena on East 68th Street. "When she told me that, I went to the Internet right away," Welch said. After a little research Welch found the parish and made the call. According to those who work in sacramental preparation, Welch's story is not uncommon.

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