Photograph of the baptistry. Author: Ramon Manent.
The current baptistry in the basilica is located in the area beside the rectory. Opened in April 1963, it was the result of the partnership between the architect Lluís Bonet i Garí and the Mataró artist Jordi Arenas i Clavell. It is a harmonious and luminous ensemble that maintains classical realism in keeping with the period of renewal encouraged by the Second Vatican Council.
The baptismal site has two areas at different levels. On one side, the anteroom, decorated with fresco paintings. Around it, four themes from the Old Testament: Jonah and the Whale, Noah and the Great Flood, the Sacrifice of Isaac and Moses with the Tablets of the Law. On the main wall, Genesis, sin and overcoming temptation. On the interior wall, the visit of Mary and Joseph to the temple with Simeon and the prophetess Anna.
In the second room, the baptismal font, made of polished granite, stands in the middle of a sunken circular space, the floor of which is embellished with a mosaic featuring the river Jordan with water and fish. On the ceiling there are allegorical symbols of Christianity: flowers, wheat, olives and grapes. A large stained-glass window, through which natural light enters, presides over the site with the image of the resurrected Christ.
