Baptism
Courses are usually held about 3 or 4 times per year, for parents and for those anticipating the birth of their child. At the course you will receive an Baptism Application form. If you have attended a baptism course in the last three years, you may arrange your baby’s baptism without attending a course but you do need to contact us so that we can give you a signed baptism application form. If it has been longer than three years, we ask you to attend a refresher course.
If you wish to have your child baptised but neither parent has been baptised Catholic, then we invite you to attend our RCIA programme before attending our baptism course. This will allow you to have a deeper understanding of what it means to raise your child in the Catholic faith.
To arrange a baptism, in all cases, you should submit a completed baptism application form, which has been signed by the Sacramental co-ordinator.
Baptism Preparation Course
Our next Baptism Preparation Course will be Sunday 18th January 2026 from 3pm – 5pm
If you are interested in the course please email L J at ljross@rcdow.org.uk
The course will take place in the hall (or the Lower committee room if the numbers are smaller).
During the session, you are able to ask questions and explore your faith in a welcoming environment. The course consists of a PowerPoint presentation along with discussion questions and is a great opportunity to meet other families within the parish. You will be given a Baptism application form to complete. You can then contact the Priest you would like to baptise your child to confirm a date/time for Baptism. Please send the completed Baptism application form, along with the confirmed date and time of the Baptism, to the Sacramental co-ordinator so the Baptism certificate can be prepared for the day. You can arrange a baptism during a Mass or outside of a Mass.
On the day of the celebration the Baptism Certificate will be presented in a Sacramental Passport folder. This will allow you to keep all the certificates, from the Sacramental milestones celebrated, in one place.
All enquiries about preparation for sacraments should be emailed to ljross@rcdow.org.uk
To help prepare for the celebration of your child’s Baptism, will require a few things:
1- Select a scripture passage from the Baptism book below (except if the baptism is in a Mass the readings will be those of the Mass and the readers will be those scheduled to be at that Mass))
2- Select two readers one to read the selected scripture passage and another to read some prayers of intercessions (Bidding Prayers).
3- On the day you need to bring a white garment (shawl or cloth) to put over your child at the appropriate time – even if your child is dressed in white.
3- If you wish to make a donation to the celebrant, you can do so using a Gift Aid envelope which can be provided.
You can access the Baptism Book to prepare for the service, choosing the readings (if outside Mass) and practicing bidding prayers, by clicking on the blue link below.
