Every three years on the Third Sunday of Lent (and every year at Masses where First Scrutiny of RCIA candidates is held), the deacon or priest proclaims the story of the Woman at the Well from the Gospel according to St. John. In that Gospel reading, the attentive listener who has also watched The Mandalorian would have recognized a particular phrase (Hopefully, they recognized it when they first heard it in the Book of Boba Fett from their knowledge of the Gospel, of course.)
In the story of the Woman at the Well, Our Lord is sitting by a well when a Samaritan woman comes to draw water. Our Lord asks her for a drink of water to which she expresses shock that He, a Jewish man, is speaking to her, a Samaritan woman, at all. In response, Our Lord tells her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” (4:10)
In Chapter 5 of The Book of Boba Fett, “Return of the Mandalorian,” the eponymous Din Djarin, after prompting, confesses to the Armorer that he removed his helmet of his own will. In response, she essentially excommunicates him, telling him that he is “Mandalorian no more.” When Din asks how he can atone, she tells him that if he bathes in the “living waters” on the planet Mandalore, he will be “redeemed.” He accomplishes this at the end of Chapter 18 (episode 2 of season 3) of The Mandalorian, “The Mines of Mandalore” and is welcomed back as a redeemed Mandalorian in the following episode (Chapter 19 “The Convert”).
It is interesting that Din confesses his “sin” of removing his helmet to the Armorer. Early on in the first season of The Mandalorian Din states that weapons are a part of his religion. Thus, the Armorer has a religious function as well and is seen to be the spiritual leader of the “Children of the Watch” (or at least the group of which Din is a member). Not only does she makes weapons, offer wisdom, and send her followers on quests, but she also conducts the ritual in which new Mandalorians are initiated.
As seen in the opening scene of season 3 (Chapter 17 “The Apostate”) the Mandalorian ritual is essentially a baptism. The new Mandalorian, before putting on his new helmet, is scrutinized by the leader conducting the ritual and made to swear an oath, just like catechumens who are about to be baptized (or the godparents if it is a baby being baptized) make baptismal promises, in response to questions asked by the priest (or deacon).
Even more so, the Mandalorians refer to the code by which they live as a “Creed.” The word Creed comes from the Latin word credo meaning “I believe.” It is the first word of the profession of faith to which the new Catholics make assent when joining the Church. Moreover, every year on Easter, Catholics renew their baptismal promises instead of reciting the Nicene Creed as they usually do every Sunday. Interestingly, Din recites the words of the oath that was seen in the baptism scene at the beginning of the previous episode as he enters the “living waters” to be redeemed.
Bo-Katan Kryze tells Din Djarin that she was inducted into the Mandalorian Creed in the living waters itself. Initially, the Armorer tells Din that redemption is not possible since their homeworld of Mandalore was destroyed. Nevertheless, this has not stopped the Armorer from making due with ordinary water to symbolize the living waters of Mandalore to initiate new Mandalorians into the Children of the Watch.
Similarly, the waters used in the sacrament of Baptism symbolize the “living waters” of grace that wash the soul of all sin, both original and actual, in the sacrament as they are initiated in the life of grace in the Catholic Church.
In the first few centuries of her existence, the Church debated whether a person had to be “rebaptized” after committing serious sin. Ultimately, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Church declared that once a person was baptized they could not be baptized again but would rather be reconciled to God by confessing their sins to a priest, standing in persona Christi.
Nevertheless, the mention of living waters by Our Lord to the Woman at the Well is a call to repentance. Thus, it is most interesting that the redemption of the Mandalorian is accomplished by him bathing in “living waters.”
Thomas J. McIntyre
Thomas J. McIntyre is a teacher and amateur historian. He holds an MA in History from Georgia Southern University. In addition to the Voyage blog, he writes for Catholic 365 and on his personal blog "Pope Damasus and the Saints." He resides in Louisiana with his wife Nancy-Leigh and daughters Kateri and Alice.