Baptism

Baptism

"Baptism, the door to life and to the Kingdom, [...] is first and foremost the Sacrament of that faith by which human beings, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Gospel of Christ. Furthermore, Baptism is the Sacrament by which human beings are incorporated into the Church and are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit, and into a royal priesthood and a holy nation; it is also a sacramental bond of unity linking all who ar signed by it."

~ Rite of Baptism, General Introduction (2019)

What's Next?

The practice of infant baptism has its roots in the Old Testament (e.g. circumcision on the 8th day), is attested to in the New Testament (c.f. Acts 16:25-33), and defended by the Church Fathers (e.g. St. Augustine).


Initial Steps


If your child is under the age of 7 and at least one of the parents is Catholic, the first step is to contact our pastoral associate, Heather Warner (hwarner@stjudetheapostle.net). 


If this is the family's first baptism, or first baptism in a number of years, Heather will sign you up for one of our baptism classes.


Please note, parents may contact Heather before their child is born.

For individuals having attained the "age of discretion," baptism is normally conferred at the Easter Vigil after a period of formation called the catechumenate.


St. Jude has various groups aligned by age such that the catechumenate is tailored to the needs of individuals' ages.


Please contact Heather Warner (hwarner@stjudetheapostle.net) to learn more.

Before attending the baptism class, families are asked to watch a formational video and answer an online questionnaire which helps each class to be tailored to the experiences of the families in each class.



Pre-Class Resources

Role and responsibility

Role

"A sponsor ("Godparent") represents both the wider spiritual family of the one to be baptized and the role of the Church as mother and, as circumstances suggest, to help the parents so that the infant will come to profess the faith and to express it in life." (Rite of Baptism, General Introduction)


Responsibility

As a representative of the wider community, sponsors must be an active member of their faith and meet certain requirements:

  1. Sponsors must be at least 16 years old.
  2. Sponsors cannot be a parent/spouse of the child/catechumen.
  3. There can be one male sponsor and one female sponsor.
  4. Sponsors are either: not married or, if married, married according to the laws of the Catholic Church.
  5. Sponsors must have received 1) Baptism 2) Confirmation in the Catholic Church and 3) First Holy Communion
  6. Sponsors must be practicing Catholics (c.f. CCC 2041-2043): Weekly Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation. Confession at least once per year. Receiving Holy Communion during Easter Season. Fasting (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday) and abstaining from meat (each Friday of the year, or some other penitential practice) on the days established by the Church. Supporting the needs of the Church.

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