Newly uncovered baptismal certificate suggests ‘Billy the Kid’ was raised Catholic

Newly uncovered records suggest that “Billy the Kid,” one of the Wild West’s most infamous outlaws, may have been raised Catholic and baptized at St. Peter’s Church in New York City.

According to a July 17 report from KOB 4, archivists say the certificate identifies Billy the Kid by his birth name, Patrick Henry McCarty, and documents his baptism at St. Peter’s. Related documents indicate that his parents were married at the church and his brother was baptized there.

The certificate surfaced during research connected to the sainthood cause of Sister Blandina Segale, a Catholic nun who was said to have befriended Billy the Kid during her ministry in the southwest. Allen Sánchez, who is helping lead Sister Segale’s cause for canonization, said archivists on the cause’s historical commission found the document, according to KOB 4. 

Sánchez said the commission also has a certificate of marriage for Billy the Kid’s parents and evidence of his brother’s baptism. The newly uncovered records suggest Billy the Kid was baptized eight years after the marriage took place. 

“He’s living this sacramental life,” Sánchez said, “meaning he was being taught the Catholic faith.” 

KOB 4 reported that Sánchez presented the findings July 16 at the Wild West History Association’s annual roundup in Albuquerque, where he was scheduled to give a presentation on Sister Blandina’s life.

Sister Blandina belonged to the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, a Catholic religious community that records indicate was familiar to Billy the Kid from childhood. KOB 4 suggested that familiarity may help explain why Sister Blandina was able to persuade him to refrain from violence during a later encounter in Colorado. 

Billy the Kid was 21 when he was killed in an 1881 gunfight in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.