“…a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how salvation works in the Church’s tradition…” — The Prodigal Catholic
Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation. Belief in the necessity of baptism for salvation is rooted in the New Testament and was forcefully affirmed by the Church Fathers, yet today this belief is treated with unease if not ignored altogether. Over the course of centuries, Catholic theology has wrestled with a doctrine—baptism of desire—that both preserves this fundamental principle and allows for salvation in hard cases, such as catechumens dying unexpectedly. Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation traces this doctrine’s varied history, from its genesis in a fourth century funeral oration given by Ambrose of Milan to its uneasy position in the Anonymous Christianity of Karl Rahner.
More than a history, however, this book raises questions about the nature of religious ritual and the sacraments, the mission of the Church, and the essence of salvation. Arguing that theologians of the past two centuries have tended to downplay the role of the sacraments when discussing salvation, Lusvardi suggests that baptism should remain our theological starting point. Engaging with the theological tradition and at times challenging the conventional wisdom, Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation shows how such a sacramental approach can offer credible—and sometimes surprising—responses to questions related to the salvation of non-Christians, the fate of unbaptized infants, and the relevance of the Church’s mission today.
Now available from Catholic University of America Press (20% discount with the code CT10), Amazon, and other online booksellers.
Watch my interview with Dr. Larry Chapp on YouTube or listen to the podcast at Gaudium et Spes 22. See also my articles Getting Back into the Baptizing Business at The Catholic Thing and Is there salvation outside baptism? A better way of looking at a difficult question in America. And read my interview in Catholic World Report: Defending the Necessity of Baptism: An interview with Fr. Anthony Lusvardi, S.J. You can also listen to my interview with Real Presence Radio about baptism of desire and the salvation of infants.
Robert Imbelli, professor emeritus, Boston College
Anthony Lusvardi’s superb, attractively written, historical study has clear systematic and pastoral implications. For, though the topic of baptism of desire has been sadly neglected in theology, what is ultimately at stake is our very understanding of the shape and scope of salvation in Jesus Christ and of our personal participation in Christ’s paschal mystery. Lusvardi mounts a telling critique of all disembodied sacramentality and of any facile disjunction of res and sacramentum. He thus cogently brings to the fore the urgency of evangelization.
José Granados, author of Introduction to Sacramental Theology: Signs of Christ in the Flesh
Offers a very accurate historical analysis of the doctrine of baptism of desire, starting with St. Ambrose and St. Augustine up to Vatican II. Lusvardi does not only give information about the different Fathers and theologians but delineates a clear leading thread that allows us to follow the development of the idea. The analyses are precise, the bibliography is abundant and well chosen, the documentation is excellent, the theological approach very sound.
Fr. Richard Conlin, The Prodigal Catholic Blog
This book is both theologically rich and remarkably readable—a rare combination…
What struck me most was how he recovers the doctrine not as a salvation loophole, but as a witness to God’s merciful desire to save precisely through the necessity and beauty of sacramental baptism. He shows how the doctrine arises from lived pastoral situations—especially the death of catechumens—and remains vitally relevant in today’s theological and missionary context.
This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how salvation works in the Church’s tradition—especially in “hard cases” like the unbaptized, non-Christians, or infants. Lusvardi manages to be both intellectually rigorous and spiritually moving…
Highly recommended—especially for priests, catechists, and anyone serious about the faith.
Read the full review: A Profound and Timely Gift to the Church.
Word on Fire
Today, baptism feels like a relatively anodyne subject since all Christians still practice it… Matrimony and the Eucharist stir more social and political controversy. Baptism, though, is the sacrament that defines Christian membership. And since baptism brings grace and nature together for the salvation of a human soul, it is really through the subject of baptism that we are forced to confront hard questions about who is saved, and how. The subject is treated deftly, compassionately, and with great erudition by Fr. Anthony R. Lusvardi, SJ, in his new book, Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation.
Ralph Martin, Renewal Ministries and author of Will Many Be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches and its Implications for the New Evangelization
…a very solid and brave work of scholarship that faithfully presents the doctrinal and moral implications of the Church’s–and Jesus’–insistence on baptism to be saved.
See the article.
A great book, a very scholarly book… What the Church teaches–and what Father Lusvardi does an excellent job of tracing the whole history of–is that baptism of desire is a possibility, but it really needs to be an implicit desire for baptism…
See the full video Are All Religions Paths to God?
Andrea Grillo, Pontifical Atheneum of Sant’Anselmo, Rome
Lusvardi offers a historical reconstruction of the ‘baptism of desire’ that traverses the entire arc of the Christian tradition, starting from the origins. A straightforward work, expressed in a language endowed with finesse, irony and acumen. Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation is singularly effective in pointing out the fact that in the modern reception, a series of priorities is imposed on the issue that empty its meaning.
Jonathan Liedl, The Catholic Spirit
Father Lusvardi sees his new book as a small step toward reanimating the Church’s sense of mission, spurred on by a deeper conviction in the necessity of baptism for salvation. We all could spend time contemplating how we might be called to participate in this missionary task, whatever our vocation.
Read the full article What a severed arm can tell us about evangelization
Antiphon
The author takes the reader on a profoundly illuminating historical and dogmatic theology journey from the apostolic age to our own, acting throughout as an immensely capable and careful guide, making sure we do not miss either major or minor attractions that can enhance the experience of trying to arrive at a deeper understanding of a profoundly significant (though sometimes underappreciated) teaching that is firmly rooted in the Catholic tradition… this volume is unmatched in what it positively contributes towards a better understanding of this area of theology.
Dr. Larry Chapp, Gaudium et Spes 22
Why I love your book and why I think it’s a very important book is that these are issues that are … percolating in the Church right now, and they’ve been percolating for a long time. Vatican II moved us in a certain direction; modern popes moved us in a certain direction; various theologians we admire… But it’s still this burning question, and your book really gives this powerful historical understanding. And that’s the beauty of this book: this historical understanding of how these issues have been played out.
Watch the whole interview: Fr. Tony Lusvardi SJ discusses his book on the necessity of baptism for salvation with Larry Chapp
João J. Vil-Chã, SJ, Ask a Jesuit
I consider this a highly recommendable book both for its rigor and, not least, for the depth and quality of the treatment of the issue associated with the concept of “Baptism of desire” throughout the history of Christianity, and also… for the remarkable clarity of the language used. In the academic field of conciliar theology, depth and clarity is something that deserves special recognition and gratitude… For anyone interested in understanding what it means to be a Christian, it deserves to be read, meditated on and, eventually, discussed. (Original: Portuguese)
Nouvelle Revue Théologuique
The aim of this book is not to elaborate an exhaustive doctrine of salvation, but to explore the history of baptism of desire and to discuss the theological questions that this notion raises, and it does so with intelligence and talent, in a lively style that is a pleasure to read. It will be appreciated by those interested in sacramental theology and its historical development. (Original: French)
Ephemerides Liturgicae
Lusvardi appropriately draws attention to the need not to dissolve the concreteness and historicity of the economy of salvation, centered on the Incarnation, the historical story of Jesus and the sacraments, into a transcendental dimension that risks detracting from the prominence of the Church’s evangelizing action and man’s free choice. (Original: Italian)
Ecclesia Orans
In a historical framework marked by religious plurality and in a context in which many Christians are abandoning their own faith to embrace other religions, returning to reflect on these issues is an urgent priority for the church…
It should be considered the most complete work in the English language – but not only in English – on the subject… the volume does not merely repeat the Tradition, but critiques it, articulating, in particular, a critique of scholastic sacramentology… The author seeks to root the theme within a more patristic, relational and personalistic horizon, also taking into account the Liturgical Movement and the liturgical theology of Casel, Guardini and Ratzinger… The theological operation put in place by Lusvardi is thus innovative, because the doctrine in question is rethought in a different theological horizon than in the past. (Original: Italian)
Joseph Carola, SJ, author of Engaging the Church Fathers in Nineteenth-Century Catholic Theology
What is the fate of those who lived before Christ and therefore died without Christian baptism? What happens to the catechumen who dies unexpectedly before being baptized? Can unbaptized babies get to heaven? Is there any hope for the salvation of non-Christians? In his thoroughly historical and insightfully theological study of the baptism of desire, Father Lusvardi offers his readers a fresh perspective on this traditional notion often misunderstood and misapplied in contemporary theology and pastoral practice. Providing a convincing response to the challenges that the hard cases present, Father Lusvardi especially appeals to the Catholic Church’s lex orandi in order to establish the Church’s lex credendi that simultaneously upholds the necessity of baptism, the need for evangelization, and the nuances of desire. Historically informative, theologically rich, and occasionally even humorous, Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation is a book not only for theologians, but perhaps even more so for pastors who labor on the rough edges of salvation.
Dr. George Ceremuga, Lead With Love Podcast
Father Tony Lusvardi has written a spiritual gem in Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation digging deep within the Church’s theological history with salvation as the goal of our faith.
Listen to my interview here.
Baby Brian: A Pilgrim of Hope
. . . a compelling argument for the validity of baptism of desire for infants of parents who desire their baptism. . .
See more.
Hekima Review
Lusvardi’s book is invaluable for scholars and students of the history of doctrines and systematic theology, particularly sacramentology and soteriology. Nevertheless, its usefulness is not limited strictly to these disciplines and people. The book can deepen readers’ understanding of the Church’s teachings on baptism and salvation, making it an excellent formative guide for those seeking to learn more about the origin and development of the doctrine and providing clarity for anyone confused by the Church’s teachings on baptism and salvation. It is recommended for Catholic clergy and lay people as it foregrounds the pastoral implications of the doctrine and the need for evangelisation.
The New Ressourcement
Lusvardi’s excellent book … is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of baptism, the nature of sin and salvation, or the hope for non-Christians and infants. It is hard to do justice to the extensive ground this book covers. In a compelling way, it draws the reader to see that the good news of Christian salvation is truly good news for its hearers precisely because the experience of Christ’s saving death and life is available to all in baptism.
Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection
This book will be of interest not just to theologians, but to social scientists as well, because of the dynamism of Lusvardi’s methodology… This evenhanded treatment is also evident in Lusvardi’s discussion of the maxim extra ecclesia nulla salus—a topic that would be of interest to Indian readers… one suspects
that Lusvardi’s Baptism of Desire and Christian Salvation might just
become Christendom’s standard theological ‘textbook’ when discussing the doctrine… Baptism of Desire is not merely a theological work but it also offers a philosophical response to the twentieth century… This is definitely a book for the bookshelf of a Catholic in India!
The Downside Review
It is to Anthony Lusvardi’s credit that he has revisited such an unfashionable doctrine, and so well. He does more than reacquaint us with the doctrine; he also exposes to view the history of the doctrine’s development, born as it was not of intellectual speculation but the reality of hard cases faced by the Church’s pastors from its earliest days. It offers a glimpse of the true nature of doctrinal development, always a process of deepening elaboration, rather than demolition or abandonment.
More importantly, even most importantly for this reader, Lusvardi confronts us with the centrality of baptism to the gift of salvation in Christ. Anyone who teaches baptism, especially at secondary and tertiary levels, will benefit enormously from Lusvardi’s work.
Tony Lusvardi, S.J. 