Holy Water

Holy water is water blessed by a priest or deacon. Catholics use it to bless themselves with the sign of the cross on entering a church, at home, and in blessings of people, homes and objects. Its meaning comes from Baptism: it is a reminder of being washed and made new in Christ.

Water rites are older than Christianity (Numbers 19 describes the Israelites’ water of purification). Christian blessings of water are found in early texts such as the 4th-century Apostolic Constitutions. Fonts at church doors became common in the Middle Ages, and the Asperges, sprinkling the people with holy water before Sunday Mass, dates from at least the 9th century.

1. Ask a priest or deacon to bless water, or take some from the font many parishes keep at the church.
2. Dip your fingers and make the Sign of the Cross on entering a church, as a reminder of your Baptism.
3. At home, many keep a small font by the door, or bless themselves, their children or rooms with it while praying.
4. Treat it with reverence: if it must be disposed of, pour it into the earth, not down a drain.

The Catechism names “the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism)” among the signs used in sacramentals (CCC 1668). The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) §119 describes the sprinkling rite at Sunday Mass. Holy water is not a medicine or a charm (CCC 2111).