Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Stained-glass depiction of St. John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.

On the Sunday following the Epiphany, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which draws to a close the Christmas season. The day commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by St. John the Baptist and marks the beginning of Jesus's three-year public ministry.

Although he is without sin, Jesus puts himself in solidarity with the crowd and with us as he enters the waters of the Jordan to be baptized by John as a representative of our collective guilt, beginning his mission of redemption. By choosing to be baptized, Jesus chooses to unite himself with us and prepares himself to be a perfect sacrifice for us.

It is through our baptism that we are connected with Christ and through our baptism that we share in the hope that Jesus brings us. The baptized Christian is called to strive for holiness, living according to the Gospels.

"Baptism inserts us into communion with Christ and therefore gives life, life itself," said Pope Benedict XVI. "Baptism...is a gift: the gift of life. But a gift must be accepted. It must be lived."

Notable at the baptism of Jesus is the presence of all three Persons of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the form of a dove, and we hear the voice of God acknowledging Jesus as his son. As we read in Matthew's account, "After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'"- Matthew 3:16-17

Reflecting on the baptism of the Lord in 2025, Pope Francis said, "Jesus receives approval from the heavenly Father, who sent him precisely so that he might accept to share our condition, our poverty. Sharing is the true way to love. Jesus does not dissociate himself from us; He considers us brothers and sisters and he shares with us. And so, he makes us sons and daughters, together with him, of God the Father. This is the revelation and source of true love."

Such is the importance of our baptism that Pope Francis encouraged everyone to learn the date they were baptized and to celebrate on that date.