Baptism of Desire

Christ taught that Baptism is necessary for salvation, and the Church has always taught that God, who bound salvation to the sacrament, is not himself bound by his sacraments. Catechumens who die before Baptism are saved by their explicit desire for it, joined to repentance and charity. The Catechism also teaches that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or his Church but sincerely seek God and strive to do his will as they understand it can be saved, and “baptism of blood” is the name for martyrdom suffered for the faith before Baptism.