Expert: Tom Schott - 12/24/2003

Question
my husband passed away 3 months ago. i am catholic and he was not.he had leukemia and had a short time to live. he was never baptized.he asked me to baptize him.i went online to find out the words to do it and i had some holy water. i went back to the hospital and baptized him. following the directions. Did i really baptize him? Did he go to heaven? when he was in hospice a catholic priest came to his bedside and prayed for him. did he give him the last rites? my family [all catholics ] took holy communion at his bedside. Was my husband a catholic when he died 1 day later? did he really go to heaven? thank you.

Answer
Angie,

 Yes, you certainly did baptize your late husband, and I am sure that he is with the Lord in heaven as we speak. Baptism removes all sin and stain of sin from our souls, so your husband was cleansed right before his death. I cannot tell whether the priest administered the last rites from the description you give, but I suspect that under the circumstances he did. Did he anoint your husband with oils? If you wanted him to be Catholic by virtue of his baptism, then he certainly was.

  God's peace to you.

Deacon Tom