Dear William:

Well, if the child was in danger of death what should have happened is to ask the priest to come and baptize the child. However, a layman can validly baptize a person, especially when there is a danger of death.

In any event, it is true that one can be validly baptized only once. If you did this baptism properly then your grandchild is indeed baptized already. But, the Church requires proof of baptism since baptism is the entry to all other Sacraments. This proof requires that the baptism was witnessed. Since you did this without witnesses there is no way to properly prove the baptism.

What the Church does when someone is already baptized but cannot prove it is to do a conditional baptism. A conditional baptism is sort of like saying, "If you are not validly baptized you are now; if you are validly baptized, then you are just getting wet."

But, the conditional baptism affirms and proves with certainty that a person is validly baptized.

Actually, when I converted to the Catholic Church, I had to have a conditional baptism, because the proof I presented was not sufficient. About six months after I was confirm in the Church the diocese asked me to provide more definitive proof. The Baptist Church where I was baptized lost the records. So to be on the safe side, the Church gave me a conditional baptism. In doing so the Church was not calling me a liar, it is just that the Church must have proof since everything else in the faith depends upon valid baptism.

The child should be formally baptized. This is not a problem. You can tell the priest what you did, but the baptism will go forward anyway.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary