Baptism

Baptism


The Church baptises infants as well as adults on the understanding that the parents/ godparents will supply the faith that is necessary to receive the Sacrament.
Through baptism, men and women are freed from sin are reborn as children of God, and, configured to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated into the Church.

Baptism is the first of the sacraments because, once baptised, a person is regarded as a member of the Catholic Church.
Other sacraments can only be celebrated for the baptised.
Catechism of the Catholic Church ( 1213 )

FURTHER INFORMATION
Welcome!
We are delighted that you wish your child to be baptised into the Catholic faith, to be acknowledged as a child of God, and to join the community of Our Lady & St George parish by professing the faith we have received from God.
We hope you will be able to take full advantage of the preparations for baptism which is entry into the Church, the Body of Christ in the world. Your child has been given a name, or will be given a name, and also to be called a Christian, that is, one who brings Christ into the world.

We can describe the preparations in three steps.

Step 1
Taking part in the Sunday Mass celebrates the Lord’s Supper. He asks us to do this in memory of him.
We celebrate his presence and his love in giving himself for us on the cross. We gather as the family of God, united in Jesus.
At the beginning or end of a Sunday Mass we would like to introduce your child to the community, the family of God.

Step 2
Take part in the meetings arranged and the instruction before baptism. This will include looking over the ceremony, going over what you are to say and do, and what you are to bring along to the ceremony. Godparents too might like to come along and other members of the family who would like to help you or even just to see what is going on!

Step 3
Take part in the meetings arranged and the instruction before baptism. This will include looking over the ceremony, going over what you are to say and do, and what you are to bring along to the ceremony. Godparents too might like to come along and other members of the family who would like to help you or even just to see what is going on!

The celebration of baptism normally takes place on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when he rose from the dead, victorious over the power of evil. (Sometimes we celebrate baptism during the Sunday Mass.)
The water poured over the head of the child three times represents the three days Jesus was in the tomb, before rising from the tomb.
Remember to bring along:
1. The white garment (e.g. shawl)
2. The baptismal candle

You can download a form HERE or pick one up at the back of the church.
Fill in the details and return it to the priest.

Information provided on this form by the parish is processed in accordance with the Diocese’s Privacy Notice which is available HERE

These are the  details you will be asked to provide for Baptismal Records
In asking to have your child baptised you are accepting the responsibility of training your child in the practice of the faith. (From the ceremony of Baptism.)
SURNAME OF CHILD TO BE BAPTISED:
FORENAME(S) OF CHILD Male/female
DATE OF BIRTH:
ADDRESS:
TELEPHONE:
FATHER’S NAME:
IS FATHER A CATHOLIC
MOTHER’S NAME:
MOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME:
IS MOTHER A CATHOLIC
PLACE AND DATE OF MARRIAGE (if applicable):
I accept the responsibility of training my child in the practice of the faith.
Signature of parent(s) ……………………
(Please bring along birth lines and marriage lines if applicable)

GODPARENTS:
Being a godparent means that a person agrees to help parents pass on the gift of faith, especially when parents are unable to do so. This means that godparents be practising Catholics and at least sixteen years of age. (A close member of the family who is not a Catholic can act as a witness.)
Each child should have at least one godparent.
A child may have two godparents, one male and one female.
The father and mother of the child cannot also be godparents.
Godparents are entrusted to help the parents of children being baptised to bring them up in the practice of the faith.
They are encouraged to teach the children as they grow to make the sign of the cross; to teach them the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory be, the Apostles’ Creed; to help them prepare to receive the mercy of God in the Sacrament of Penance; help them understand the gift of Holy Communion and how to receive Holy Communion; and how to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.
Godparents are encouraged to accompany their godchildren on the journey of life and to help them as they face the difficult times in their lives.
May God bless them in this beautiful task that they are to undertake.
A separate information leaflet has been prepared for godparents to help them in the role they are to undertake. These leaflets should be available at the back of the church or from the priest.

For godparents, the  details you will be asked to provide are:

Names of godparent(s)

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