Twins baptized by twins: Babies welcomed into the Church by priest, deacon twin brothers
Twins baptized by twins — Gianna and Andrew Renwick with Father Ben and Deacon Luke Daghir. / Credit: Don Wojtaszek CNA Staff, Oct 28, 2023 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Twins Gianna and Andrew Renwick were born on July 18, each weighing slightly less than 6 pounds. One month later, on Aug. 20, they were baptized at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Reynoldsville, Pennsylvania, by Father Ben Daghir and Deacon Luke Daghir, clergy from the Diocese of Erie who happen to be twin brothers.
Luke and Kristin Renwick are parents to four under 4: Arthur, Grace, Gianna, and Andrew. The Catholic couple told CNA that they always prayed for twins knowing that it runs in the family. Kristin’s mom is a twin and her mother’s grandfather was a twin. But, after suffering a miscarriage last fall, twins were not on the Renwicks’ mind.
“When we got pregnant again, we were blessed with twins so we ended up doubling up the family,” Luke Renwick said.
Kristin added: “We had always prayed for twins. You just never actually think — will God grant us these prayers? But, certainly, prayers were answered and God is good.”
When the Renwicks found out they were expecting twins, they were excited to share the news with their parish priest, Father Ben Daghir, who was ordained in the spring of 2022, since he is also a twin.
Luke explained that as they got closer to the delivery date, they spoke with Daghir about setting up the baptism.
“We asked him to do it and within that conversation he’s like, ‘Hey, would you be open to my brother being a part of it as well? Because he’ll be a [transitional] deacon at that point and then it would be twins baptizing twins,’” he shared.
“We just thought that was the coolest thing in the world, and I mean, how unique is that?” Luke said.
The Renwicks decided that instead of having a separate ceremony, they would do it during Mass “because we really wanted other people to experience it as well,” Luke said.
Kristin added: “I think it was the witness of it, what made it so much more special.”
Another unique circumstance was being able to have two sets of godparents — one set for each baby. Gianna’s godparents are Kristin’s sister and brother-in-law and Andrew’s godparents are Luke’s sister and a close family friend who is currently in seminary.
For Kristin, having three sets of twins present at the baptism was special.
“It was the Daghir twins and then my mom and my aunt, and then the babies, and we have this really cool picture of all of them together,” she said.
The Renwicks shared that the meaning behind each of their twins’ names also has a special significance.
Since 2015, the couple has been involved in “Alpha,” a program for adult faith formation that emphasizes evangelization. During a talk one day, the speaker said: “We can’t all be St. Peters, but we can all be St. Andrews” — referring to the fact that Andrew introduced Peter to Jesus. This resonated with Luke.
“I’ve always loved the fact that that’s kind of what we’re here for is just to introduce people to Jesus,” he said.
One of Kristin’s favorite saints is St. Gianna Molla.
“I’m a family physician. So, I was always drawn to St. Gianna because she was a pediatrician, of course, and led the pro-life movement as well, which is so special to me. So, it was kind of a no-brainer,” Kristin explained.
Gianna and Andrew, who are now 3 months old, already have a unique “connection.” Kristin shared that seeing the two snuggle up together and interact “is incredible” and a “miracle from God.”
