(NewsNation Now) — A Catholic priest in Arizona has resigned following a church investigation that found that he performed thousands of invalid baptisms throughout most of his 20-year career.
The baptisms were deemed invalid due to the wording used during in the religious ceremony.
Father Andres Arango, who performed thousands of baptisms, would say “We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
But according to Bishop Thomas Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix, the words “we baptize” should have been “I baptized.”
In a statement obtained by NewsNation, the diocese says the issue with using “we” is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is “Christ and Him alone” who will preside at all of the sacraments.
Shrugging off the invalid baptisms isn’t an option for many worshipers, because it affects sacred practices for Catholics such as confirmation and communion, and according to the Diocese of Phoenix, that confusion could also affect marriages.
Arango has apologized for his mistake in a statement, saying “It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest regularly using an incorrect formula.”
The diocese is aware of the confusion this may cause parishioners and has set up a website for anyone who believes they had an invalid baptism.
The diocese says baptisms that Arango conducted after June 17, 2021, are presumed to be valid.