'Online' baptism brings family, oceans apart, together

AUCKLAND, New Zealand - The parents and the baby were in Devonport, a village outside Auckland; the godparents were in London; and the baptism was scheduled for the south of France.

But the father's business commitments would not allow him to leave New Zealand, creating a 12,400-mile predicament for Gael and Astrid Miorcec de Kerdanet and their third son, 9-month-old Alban Roger Galiot Marie. The solution - a New Zealand baptism broadcast online that brought parents, baby, priest and godparents together in real time by video conference. The idea came from Father Christopher Brady, who describes himself as "an avid follower of technical progress." He said he saw an opportunity to "leverage technology for the greater good of God." "I knew Gael was in the information technology industry and therefore asked him whether this was possible," said Father Brady. "He had a quick think about it and thought it entirely doable." Gael Miorcec de Kerdanet moved with his family from France to New Zealand three years ago and set up his own information technology business in Auckland. "Creating a live data feed over the Internet is still relatively new, but entirely possible using current consumer technology," he said. "Astrid and I were very keen to have both of us as well as the original godparents as part of the ceremony, which wasn't going to happen as I couldn't make it to Europe this time. "It was important for us to have a really faithful event that allowed all to participate regardless of the distance involved," he added. On June 24 at 9 p.m., after a couple of initial delays setting it up, the baptism took place at St. Francis de Sales and All Souls Church, Devonport, and included the godparents with a 12-hour time difference on the other side of the world. "The result was outstanding," said Father Brady. "We were all around the baptism font, with the godparents - Roger Lowe and Eleanore Droulers in London - present as if they were physically here, participating in the ceremony in real time, while also being able to see physically what was going on. "It was an initial shock when they started responding to my questions addressed to the parents and godparents as part of the ceremony, from the other side of the world," he added. In the Devonport church, family friend Pippa Turley acted as proxy for the godparents. From London, the godmother said the prayer of the faithful in French. The final result, said Father Brady, was "a truly pious ceremony, with all the people that mattered around Alban, no matter where they were."

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops