Baptism
“Baptism is the door of the spiritual life and the gateway to the sacraments.”
In the Catholic Church we baptise infants to welcome them into our faith and to free them from the original sin we are all born with. It is the first of our holy sacraments and it marks the birth of your child into the community of the Church so for our Parish the baptism of your child is a parish community event.
I would like to sign up my child for Baptism…
Baptisms are celebrated on designated days during the year, ideally within the Easter season, which means as a rule we do not baptise during the seasons of Lent or Advent.
Typically speaking the first and third Sunday in a month are our preferred baptism days. Once you have filled in the form the office will give you a call to discuss dates and times.
A message to those seeking baptism of their child…
Parents, we welcome you with great joy. It is your wish that your child should be baptised into the Faith of the Church. We welcome your decision and our task is to support and prepare you for the celebration and living out of the Baptism of your child. · Baptism assumes that there is a well founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic Faith. So, parents, our expectations are high.
The baptism of your child is very important to you and to us as a parish community. Like most parishes, we have a Baptism Preparation Team who will help you to understand the meaning of Baptism and your role in nurturing the faith-life of your child.
What do we expect of parents baptising their children?
· Baptism presumes you have ongoing involvement with the people of our parish or that you wish to be part of our community. This involves participating in Sunday Mass, so we expect to see regular Mass attendance from you as parents.
· That in baptising this child you truly pledge that they will be brought up in the Catholic Faith.
· Baptism involves the preparation of parents so we ask you to attend three meetings with other families. These are led by our Baptism Preparation Team.
· At this early stage we would like to recommend that you send your child to a Catholic School. We are blessed to have excellent Catholic Primary Schools in Southampton!
Curious as to what a baptism looks like?
Here is a great example of the Rite of Baptism:
https://www.bedfordcatholic.org/documents/2015/5/RiteOfBaptism.pdf