Preparing to baptise your child
Parents must attend a 2-session Baptism Formation Program (during pregnancy or after birth) – dates and times are announced in the Parish Newsletter during the year. If the next course is not advertised in our Events listing, please contact the Parish Office to register your interest.
Baptisms take place during Parish Masses – book a date ahead
Baptisms that take place here in the parish of St Edmund’s will be during Parish Masses, at Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9am, 11am. We recognize that families need to plan ahead, when they have friends and family attending the baptism, so you can book the time and date of the baptism through Katherine in the Parish Office.
Any booking is conditional on the completion of the baptism course, and godparent references being completed before the actual baptism. The date and which Mass can be booked with Katherine (Parish Office) but must be confirmed in writing.
Godparents
Canon Law (Church Law) requires that each child must have godparent; should there be a second godparent, one has to be male and the other female. A godparent is defined as a confirmed, practising Catholic.
Should the godparent not be a member of this parish (St Edmund’s) we require a reference from his / her parish that they meet the requirement – that he/she is attending Mass regularly.
Although the maximum number of godparents is set at two, families could have additional people whose standing is that of ‘witness to the baptism’. During the baptism, we don’t distinguish between godparents and witnesses, but only the names of the godparents will be inserted in the baptismal register and in the baptism certificate.
Equally, baptised Christians from other denominations may participate as witnesses to the baptism, but they cannot participate as godparents. Members of other faiths (or none) cannot serve as either godparents or as witnesses to the baptism.
The baptism itself
Both parents and godparents, as part of the baptism, must make a declaration of faith. Prior to the baptism, we ask you to go through the declaration of faith and ascertain that you both can honestly make it.
In all probability, if anyone one has a problem with any part of it, the problem lies in understanding what is meant rather than with the article of faith itself – do, please, contact me to discuss it well before the baptism. The unpleasant thing you could do is start your child’s relationship with God by affirming in His presence to something you don’t believe.
Since all baptisms are during Mass, the other choice you are faced with is how to clothe your child with a white garment: this is something additional to whatever your child is wearing at the time of the actual baptism, which is white, and added a minute or so after the baptism. Traditionally, the garment would be a white shawl, but it could be a simple as a length of white ribbon going around the neck. It recalls the practice in the early Church of baptism by total immersion; as the newly baptised person came out of the water he/she would be dried and clothed in new white garments. You need to let Katherine know well in advance of your decision prior to your child’s baptism.
We don’t charge for baptism but we ask for families to make a contribution to defray the cost by offering a donation in the range of £50 to 100; some give more. It doesn’t mean you have to subject yourselves to unnecessary financial stress, but give what you think you can afford.