Second Birthday

Do You Know the Date of Your Baptism?

Pope Francis asked this question again and again.

Most people know their birthday.

Many remember anniversaries, graduations, weddings, and other important dates.

But there is another date that Pope Francis repeatedly urged Christians to know:

The date of your Baptism.

Why?

Because your Baptism was not simply a ceremony that happened when you were young.

It was the beginning of your life in Christ.

It was the day you were washed in the waters of Baptism, received into the Church, reborn in the Holy Spirit, and began the sacramental life of grace.

Pope Francis returned to this message throughout his pontificate:

Find the date. Remember it. Thank God for it. Celebrate it.

“Your Second Birthday”

On November 13, 2013, Pope Francis described Baptism in remarkably personal terms:

“Baptism is in a certain sense the identity card of the Christian, his birth certificate, and the act of his birth into the Church.”
— Pope Francis, General Audience, November 13, 2013

He encouraged Christians to discover the date of their Baptism and to remember it as a second birthday.

This was not a passing remark.

For more than a decade, Pope Francis repeatedly returned to the same theme.

“To Know the Date of Our Baptism Is to Know a Blessed Day”

On January 8, 2014, Pope Francis again challenged Catholics to know the date of their Baptism:

“To know the date of our Baptism is to know a blessed day.”
— Pope Francis, General Audience, January 8, 2014

He reminded Christians that Baptism is not simply something that happened in the past:

“We are called to live out our Baptism every day as the present reality of our lives.”

Your Baptism happened on one particular day.

But what God began that day continues throughout your life.

“A Date of Celebration”

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in 2018, Pope Francis said:

“We must always keep that date in our memory, because it is a date of celebration.”
— Pope Francis, January 7, 2018

He connected that day with:

our first sanctification,
the gift of the Holy Spirit,
forgiveness,
and entry into Christian life.

The date recorded in a parish baptismal register is therefore much more than an administrative fact.

It marks a spiritual beginning.

“The Date of Rebirth”

In April 2018, Pope Francis made the point even more directly:

“We should all know the date of our Baptism. It is another birthday: the date of rebirth.”
— Pope Francis, General Audience, April 11, 2018

He explained the reason in profoundly personal terms:

“It is the very day on which Jesus entered me, the Holy Spirit entered me.”

A natural birthday celebrates the gift of earthly life.

A Baptism anniversary recalls the beginning of supernatural life in Christ.

“The Roots of Our Eternal Life”

Perhaps one of Pope Francis' most powerful statements came on January 13, 2019:

“Let it be a date kept in your heart to be celebrated every year.”

Then he explained why:

“There lie the roots of our life in God; the roots of our eternal life.”
— Pope Francis, January 13, 2019

Think about that.

The date of your Baptism marks the beginning of something intended not merely for this life, but for eternity.

“Celebrate the Date of Your Baptism”

In January 2020, Pope Francis again returned to the subject:

“In Baptism the Holy Spirit came down to remain within us. This is why it is important to know the date of our Baptism.”
— Pope Francis, January 12, 2020

And then the invitation:

“Celebrate the date of your Baptism in your heart, every year.”

Knowing the date is only the beginning.

Remembering it should lead to gratitude.

“Our Rebirth”

On January 9, 2022, Pope Francis described remembering the date as something beautiful:

“This is a beautiful thing: remembering the date of your baptism because it is our rebirth.”
— Pope Francis, January 9, 2022

He connected Baptism with the moment in which Christians became children of God in Christ.

The day deserves remembrance because it marks the beginning of a new identity.

“The Beginning of My Christian Life”

Speaking to pilgrims in September 2022, Pope Francis said:

“Christian life is a house that is built on the foundation of Baptism.”

He encouraged people to remember and celebrate the date because:

“It was the beginning of my Christian life, of my friendship with God.”
— Pope Francis, September 17, 2022

Your Baptism is not a footnote in your life story.

It is part of the foundation.

“A Birthday of Faith”

On January 8, 2023, Pope Francis made the comparison unmistakable:

“Every year, celebrate that date, because it is a new birthday, a birthday of faith.”
— Pope Francis, January 8, 2023

That same day, while baptizing infants in the Sistine Chapel, he told parents:

“It is like a birthday, because with Baptism we are reborn into Christian life.”

Parents were encouraged to teach their children their baptismal dates so that they could remember them every year and thank God for the grace of becoming Christians.

“Born Into the Life of Grace”

On January 7, 2024, Pope Francis again asked Christians to remember the day of their Baptism:

“It is important to remember the day of our Baptism, and also to know the date.”

He then explained its meaning:

“It is a new birthday, because with your Baptism you were born into the life of grace.”
— Pope Francis, January 7, 2024

And his invitation was simple:

“To celebrate your own Baptism: it is a new birthday.”

“Celebrate It Like a Second Birthday”

Later that same month, Pope Francis spoke to young people preparing for Confirmation and gave them a memorable instruction:

“The date of Baptism must be celebrated, every year, like a second birthday!”
— Pope Francis, January 27, 2024

He even suggested having a cake with candles.

But the deeper reason was serious:

On that date, the Christian was born into Christian life, entered the Church, and received the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.

“Does Every One of You Remember the Date?”

On January 12, 2025, Pope Francis returned once again to the question:

“Does every one of you remember the date of your Baptism? This is very important!”
— Pope Francis, January 12, 2025

He told those who did not know it to ask their parents, godparents, or others who could help them discover it.

Then he gave perhaps the clearest summary of all:

“Let us celebrate this date as if it were a new birthday: that of our birth in the Spirit of God.”

One Message, Repeated for More Than a Decade

From 2013 through 2025, Pope Francis repeatedly returned to the same invitation:

Know your Baptism date.

Remember your Baptism date.

Celebrate your Baptism date.

Thank God for your Baptism.

Why did he return to this so often?

Because Baptism is not simply a record of where you were once taken to church.

According to Catholic teaching, Baptism marks the beginning of an entirely new life.

What Happened on the Day of Your Baptism?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that through Baptism:

you were freed from sin,
you were reborn as a child of God,
you became a member of Christ,
you were incorporated into the Church,
you received the gift of the Holy Spirit,
you received sanctifying grace,
you entered the sacramental life of the Church,
and you were marked with an indelible spiritual seal.

This is why the Church speaks about Baptism in the language of birth.

It is why Pope Francis could call the date:

your second birthday,
your birthday of faith,
your rebirth,
your birth into the life of grace,
and your birth in the Spirit of God.

A Date Worth Finding

Perhaps you were baptized as an infant.

Perhaps your parents remember the parish but not the exact date.

Perhaps the certificate has been misplaced.

Perhaps the people who could easily tell you are no longer living.

That does not make the date meaningless.

It makes finding it worthwhile.

Your Baptism may have happened decades ago, but the grace and identity connected with it are not simply relics of the past.

As Pope Francis said:

“There lie the roots of our life in God; the roots of our eternal life.”

How to Find Your Baptism Date

If you do not know the date, begin with what you do know.

1. Ask family members

Parents, grandparents, siblings, godparents, or other relatives may remember the event or know where records are kept.

2. Look for a baptismal certificate

Check family files, sacramental records, keepsake boxes, old Bibles, and other important documents.

3. Identify the parish

If you know the church where you were baptized, contact the parish office and request a baptismal record.

4. Contact the diocese

If the parish has closed, merged, or changed names, the diocesan chancery or archives may know where its sacramental registers are now held.

5. Record the date permanently

Once you find it, save it with your important family and sacramental records.

Then put it on your calendar.

Celebrate It

Pope Francis did not merely tell Christians to find their Baptism date.

He told them to celebrate it.

You might:

attend Mass,
renew your baptismal promises,
thank God in prayer,
light your baptismal candle if you still have it,
visit the church where you were baptized,
pray for your parents and godparents,
read John 3:1–8,
read Romans 6:3–11,
or simply gather your family and thank God for the gift of Baptism.

It does not need to be elaborate.

The point is remembrance.

Your Baptism Was the Beginning

Your natural birthday tells you when your life in this world began.

Your Baptism date tells you something different.

It points to the day the Church received you into the sacramental life of Christ.

The day you were washed in water.

The day the Holy Trinity was invoked over you.

The day you became part of the Body of Christ.

The day your life of grace began.

Do you know that date?

If not, perhaps today is the day to begin looking.

Find Your Baptism Date

Your Baptism was not just an event.
It was a beginning.

Discover the date.

Remember the grace.

Celebrate the gift.

Live what began there.

Official Vatican Sources

The quotations on this page are drawn from Pope Francis' addresses and Angelus messages published by the Holy See.

Editorial Note

This page presents a curated selection of Pope Francis' repeated teachings about remembering and celebrating one's Baptism date. Short quotations are used for catechetical and educational purposes. Readers are encouraged to follow the official Vatican links above for the complete addresses and surrounding context.

Don’t know your own Baptism date yet? Request your record.