José Lourenço da Silva receives First Communion
On June 17, at the age of 104, José Lourenço da Silva received the sacraments of Christian initiation — namely Baptism
The beautiful ceremony was celebrated in the chapel of St. Jude Thaddeus in Alto Piquiri, Paraná, presided by Fr. Antonio Murilo Macedo da Luz, pastoral associate of the Diocesan Shrine of St. Joseph
The remarkable day in the life of the centenarian was preceded weeks earlier by a visit from Sidônia dos Santos
who works in the pastoral care of the elderly
he told her that he had been "baptized at home
never in church" because the local church "didn’t exist" back then
He added that he did wish to receive the sacraments in church and
the necessary arrangements were made for him to receive catechesis
It was a month-long intensive preparation so that he would know properly the meaning and
receiving the Body and Blood of Christ for the first time
and being confirmed in the faith through the sacrament of Confirmation
the centenarian said he felt great well-being:
I used to lie in bed and dream about so much rubbish and now I don't anymore
It’s important to note that there were "prudent doubts" about the validity of the baptism he says he received at home, as there were no reliable records to adequately confirm it. In such a case, the Church may baptize a person only "conditionally," since valid baptism cannot be repeated
This means that if José wasn’t already validly baptized
that original baptism remains perfectly valid
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