The Catholic Church says that thousands of people will have to redo their baptisms after it was discovered a priest was using incorrect wording when performing the sacrament.

The Rev. Andres Arango is the former priest at St. Gregory Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona, the Christian Post reports. Concerns were first raised last year about his baptisms when he was overheard saying, "We baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

In a statement posted to St. Gregory's website, Bishop Thomas Olmsted from the Diocese of Phoenix explains that the phrasing to be used when baptizing someone is "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

"The key phrase in question is the use of 'We baptize' in place of 'I baptize,'" Olmsted writes. "The issue with using 'We' is that it is not the community that baptizes a person, rather, it is Christ, and Him alone, who presides at all of the sacraments, and so it is Christ Jesus who baptized."

Olmsted says that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has made clear no one, including priests, "may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.”

In a note from Arango himself on the same web page, the priest says, "It saddens me to learn that I have performed invalid baptisms throughout my ministry as a priest by regularly using an incorrect formula. I deeply regret my error and how this has affected numerous people in your parish and elsewhere. With the help of the Holy Spirit and in communion with the Diocese of Phoenix I will dedicate my energy and full time ministry to help remedy this and heal those affected.  In order to do this, I have resigned from my position as pastor of St. Gregory parish in Phoenix effective February 1, 2022."

Olmsted says he does not believe Andres did anything wrong intentionally. The Diocese says that anyone whose baptism may be connected to Arango's ministry can fill out a form to have the sacrament performed again.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank God for having given me the opportunity to serve your community," Arango says. "You have all enriched my life beyond measure. It has been a blessing and an honor to have served and worked alongside people that I consider my dear friends and family."

Arango ministered for over 20 years in congregations throughout Brazil and San Diego, Califonia, as well, according to the New York Times.