Baptism Preparation

Preparation for the Sacrament of Baptism

If you are a new parent, congratulations! We are delighted to hear you are looking to have your child baptised and are keen to support as best we can. 

Preparing for the Sacrament 

In preparation for such an important sacrament, we warmly invite you to take part in a Baptism Preparation Class with our Pastoral Coordinator, Callum.

These sessions take place at 7pm in St Mark’s parish room, usually on the last Thursday of every month. Before you can book a date for baptism, you must have attended one of these sessions.  Attendance can be booked on the Events page on the parish website. Scroll through the calendar until you come to the details of the next session. Click on the entry and book onto the session. If you cannot find the details it means that no further dates have been uploaded, but they will be in due course, so do check regularly.

The session consists of a chat over tea/coffee about the meaning of the Sacrament of Baptism, a practical walk through of the rite and answering any queries you may have. We will also provide resources and support for helping raise your child in the Catholic faith.

The Baptism Preparation meeting is required for the first child and subsequent children if you are not a weekly Mass attender. If you attend Mass weekly and it is three years since you attended a baptism preparation class then re-attendance of the class is highly recommended.

Restrictions on who we can Baptise

Please be aware that at least one parent must be a Catholic. If both parents are not Catholics, then unfortunately it is not possible to baptise your child. This is because they will not have the example of a lived Catholic family life. Naturally though, if one or both of you would like to become Catholic we are equally happy to help. If you would like to begin this process please email Callum at cmoore@jfk.herts.sch.uk 

Booking for Baptism

If you have attended a Baptism Preparation Class within the last twelve months, then please call our Parish Administrator for a Baptism Information Form and have ready the date you attended the Baptism Preparation Class. When you have completed the Baptism Information Form please return it with the suggested donation to the Hemel West parish office, and then contact the Parish Administrator during her office hours to book the baptism. Baptisms are not usually held during the season of Lent and the months of, August and December, unless there is a specific pastoral need.

Please do not notify friends and family of a proposed baptism date until completion of the course and any issues that arise are resolved with the Parish Priest, especially if it may be necessary to delay the baptism.


Emergency Baptism
In the rare event that an unbaptised child is in danger of death, any person (even a non-Christian) may baptise if they have the intention to do what the Church does. Baptisms which are considered valid must use both water (pouring, sprinkling, or immersing the one baptised) and the Trinitarian formula: “I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. For the baptism to be valid water must strike the child’s head as you say this phrase. Any variation of this procedure is not allowed.