There are three forms of baptism:

1. baptism by water — This is the Sacrament of Baptism, by which one formally enters the Church and becomes a member. The Catholic Church accepts Orthodox Christian and most Protestant denomination baptisms as valid. Mormon baptism and Jehovah’s Witness baptism are each not valid under Catholic teaching.

2. baptism of desire — This is a non-formal type of baptism, which is sufficient to forgive original sin and all personal sins, and confers the state of grace (with love, faith, and hope). But the non-formal types of baptism do not have the full effect of the Sacrament of Baptism; they do not confer the indelible mark on the soul of the Sacrament of Baptism, and they do not forgive all punishment due for past sins. A baptism of desire can be explicit or implicit. The implicit baptism of desire makes one a member of the Church implicitly, typically without explicit belief in Christ and His Church, and without formal reception of any Sacraments.

See this article: Roman Catholic Teaching on the Implicit Baptism of Desire

3. baptism of blood — This is another non-formal type of baptism, which has the same effects as a baptism of desire, and the same difference from the Sacrament of Baptism. Any of the three types of baptism are sufficient for salvation.

The classic example of baptism of blood is the catechumenate, who dies for the Christian Faith before he was able to be baptized with water. However, it is certainly that the Holy Innocents, who died during Herod’s attempt to kill the Christ-Child, died in a state of grace and are saved in Heaven. Therefore, it is not essential for a baptism of blood to be the result of the person’s explicit belief in Christ along with an explicit choice to die for Christ.

My theological opinion is that prenatals, infants, and young children, who die at that young age without the Sacrament of Baptism, are given the state of grace by a baptism of blood.

This opinion is in harmony with the teaching of the Church on the universal salvific will of God, and the teaching that “God predestines no one to go to hell; [618] for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end.” [Catechism of the Catholic Church 1037; note 618 cites: Cf. Council of Orange II (529): DS 397; Council of Trent (1547):1567.]

Prenatals, infants, and young children have not committed a mortal sin (i.e. actual mortal sin) and certainly have not persisted in unrepentance from that sin until the end, and so they certainly are NOT sent to Hell, nor to the limbo of Hell, nor to Limbo as a third final destination. Even though the limbo of Hell is taught by the Church, the Magisterium has never affirmed that unbaptized infants go there.

Pope Innocent III: “For God forbid that all children, of whom daily so great a multitude die, would perish, but that also for these, the merciful God, who wishes no one to perish, has procured some remedy unto salvation.”

The above quote means that all little children go to Heaven. Pope Innocent does not suggest a theological explanation, but he knows the universal salvific will of God, so he concludes that God has a remedy unto salvation for them. My opinion is that it is an implicit form of the baptism of blood (just as there is an implicit baptism of desire).

Pope Pius IX: “Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments.”

The idea that unbaptized little children die in original sin and so they go to the limbo of Hell — even though they are without actual mortal sin — is contrary to Church teaching. Instead, the teaching that those who die in a state of original sin alone go to the limbo of Hell [Lyons II; Florence] refers to those who die unrepentant from the actual mortal sin of omission of never having found the state of grace in this life despite ample opportunity. And no little children have had ample opportunity to obtain the state of grace on their own; so they are given the state of grace by a baptism of blood from the Cross of Christ.

Cardinal Ratzinger: “It must therefore be firmly believed as a truth of Catholic faith that the universal salvific will of the One and Triune God is offered and accomplished once for all in the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God.”

God wills all persons to be saved, but He respects our free will. So it is that some persons are not saved, as they freely choose to commit actual mortal sin and then die without repenting. All who are saved, are saved by Christ through his incarnation, death on the Cross, and resurrection — even if they do not know that they have salvation through Christ and His Church.

Second Vatican Council: “Since Christ died for everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is therefore a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in this Paschal Mystery in a manner known to God.”

The Church teaches that EVERYONE is offered salvation, and everyone has a real possibility of going to Heaven. However, not everyone is saved, as there is a Hell and it is neither empty nor sparsely populated.

Pope Saint John Paul II: “The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all.”

Those who are saved without explicit belief in Christ, without formal membership in the Church by the Sacrament of Baptism, are nevertheless saved by Christ and His Church. They belong to the Church implicitly.

Pope Saint John Paul II: “It is a mysterious relationship. It is mysterious for those who receive the grace, because they do not know the Church and sometimes even outwardly reject her. It is also mysterious in itself, because it is linked to the saving mystery of grace, which includes an essential reference to the Church the Savior founded.”

Even some of those who outwardly reject the Catholic Church are saved, as they may have invincible ignorance in rejecting Christianity and Baptism. But they must obtain the state of grace by one of the three forms of baptism, and must die in the state of grace.

Pope Pius IX: “Here, too, our beloved sons and venerable brothers, it is again necessary to mention and censure a very grave error entrapping some Catholics who believe that it is possible to arrive at eternal salvation although living in error and alienated from the true faith and Catholic unity. Such belief is certainly opposed to Catholic teaching. There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments.”

Objectively, it is a grave sin to reject Christ, explicitly or implicitly, or to reject the Sacrament of Baptism, or to reject the Catholic Church and Her teachings. But fallen sinners often misunderstand what is true and good, and so may have invincible ignorance. This means that their objectively grave sin of rejecting Christ and His Church may not have the full culpability of actual mortal sin, and so they would be able possibly to enter the state of grace by a baptism of desire (or blood). And when Pius IX says, above, that anyone not guilty of deliberate sin will not be sent to Hell by God, he means, and the teaching of the Church (e.g. CCC 1037) confirms, that anyone not guilty of actual mortal sin cannot go to Hell. Even so, those guilty of actual mortal sin may repent and be forgiven, returning them to the state of grace, so that they, too, can avoid Hell and go to Heaven.

Recommended Reading: Pope Saint John Paul II, All Salvation Comes through Christ.

The Letter of the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston (1949): “To gain eternal salvation, it is not always required that a person be incorporated in reality (reapse) as a member of the Church, but it is necessary that one belong to it at least in desire and longing (voto et desiderio). It is not always necessary that this desire be explicit as it is with catechumens. When one is invincibly ignorant, God also accepts an implicit desire, so called because it is contained in the good disposition of soul by which a person wants his or her will to be conformed to God’s will”.

The above Letter was sent to explain why Fr. Leonard Feeney was excommunicated; he taught the heresy that no one can be saved unless they become a formal member of the Church by the Sacrament of Baptism with water.

Pope Pius IX Singulari Quadam: “For, it must be held by faith that outside the Apostolic Roman Church, no one can be saved; that this is the only ark of salvation; that he who shall not have entered therein will perish in the flood; but, on the other hand, it is necessary to hold for certain that they who labor in ignorance of the true religion, if this ignorance is invincible, are not stained by any guilt in this matter in the eyes of God.”

Pope Pius XII: “Above all, the state of grace is absolutely necessary at the moment of death; without it, salvation and supernatural happiness — the beatific vision of God — are impossible. An act of love is sufficient for the adult to obtain sanctifying grace and to supply the lack of baptism.”

The Catechism of Pope Saint Pius X:
“Q. But if a man through no fault of his own is outside the Church, can he be saved? A. If he is outside the Church through no fault of his, that is, if he is in good faith, and if he has received Baptism, or at least has the implicit desire of Baptism; and if, moreover, he sincerely seeks the truth and does God’s will as best he can such a man is indeed separated from the body of the Church, but is united to the soul of the Church and consequently is on the way of salvation” [The Creed, Ninth Article, The Church in Particular: 29]

“Q. Can the absence of Baptism be supplied in any other way? A. The absence of Baptism can be supplied by martyrdom, which is called Baptism of Blood, or by an act of perfect love of God, or of contrition, along with the desire, at least implicit, of Baptism, and this is called Baptism of Desire.” [Baptism, Necessity of Baptism and Obligations of the Baptized: 17]

Each of the three forms of baptism confers the state of grace and the virtues of love, faith, and hope. It is Catholic dogma that everyone who dies in the state of grace will have eternal life in Heaven, perhaps after a stay of some length in Purgatory [Pope Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus]. Therefore, if anyone has the state of grace and dies in that state, they are saved. There are NO OTHER absolute requirements. Die in the state of grace and you are saved. However, those who live a holier life have a greater reward in Heaven.

And since the state of grace is not solely given to Catholics or Christians nor solely to those who have received the Eucharist or other Sacraments, salvation is not limited to only Catholics or only Christians or only those who have received one or more Sacraments. Even the Sacrament of Baptism is not an absolute requirement, since there are two other forms of baptism which, while not a Sacrament, still forgive original sin, all personal sin, and confer the state of grace and the virtues of love, faith, and hope.

Does this make all religions equal? Does this negate the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross or make the Church unnecessary as the sole Ark of Salvation? No, to both questions!

The easiest and surest path to Heaven is to be a believing and practicing Catholic Christian. The further away from true Catholicism one goes, the more difficult it is to be saved. An atheist or pagan can be saved, but it is much more difficult for them to know right from wrong, to avoid actual mortal sin, and to die in a state of grace. By comparison, Catholic Christians have only to believe and follow the teaching of the Church — but also must repent and confess if they fall into actual mortal sin.

Pope Saint John Paul II: “What I have said above, however, does not justify the relativistic position of those who maintain that a way of salvation can be found in any religion, even independently of faith in Christ the Redeemer, and that interreligious dialogue must be based on this ambiguous idea. That solution to the problem of the salvation of those who do not profess the Christian creed is not in conformity with the Gospel. Rather, we must maintain that the way of salvation always passes through Christ, and therefore the Church and her missionaries have the task of making him known and loved in every time, place and culture. Apart from Christ “there is no salvation.” As Peter proclaimed before the Sanhedrin at the very start of the apostolic preaching: “There is no other name in the whole world given to men by which we are to be saved” (Acts 4:12).” [Pope Saint John Paul II, All Salvation Comes through Christ.]

Ronald L Conte Jr