We are excited to prepare with you for the baptism of your child! As the Catechism proclaims, “Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: ‘Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1213)
Schedule a Baptism
To schedule a baptism, please contact baptism@sta2.org. Parents must attend two baptism workshops.
More on Baptism
Baptism—and all sacraments, for that matter—are much more than the moment of celebration. They neither begin nor end with the liturgical ritual. They are celebrations of lived experiences. They exist before, during, and after the celebration.
The ritual of baptism does not bring God’s love into being as if that love did not exist before the ceremony. Rather, baptism is the Church’s way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God who first loved us from the moment of our conception. Baptism is a ritualization and manifestation of something real—of the outpouring of God’s Spirit and of our acceptance of that transforming love. It remains for us to grow into what we already are: sons and daughters of God. Baptism celebrates a family’s and a community’s experience of that love in the baptized.
The Role of the Godparent
Being a godparent is not just an honor to be given to a good friend or relative. A godparent is someone who will have a personal and lasting influence on the child’s religious development. Godparents are present with parents to profess the Church’s faith in which the child is being baptized and proclaim that they will help the parents to exemplify to the child how to live that faith.
It is a serious responsibility for the parents to choose well who will be the godparent(s) of their child. Parents need to ensure that the godparent(s) understand the time, willingness, and faith required of them. Godparenting is more than an honor; it is a ministry and sacred vocation in the Catholic Church. Godparent(s) must meet the following requirements:
- Be mature enough to undertake this responsibility (at least 16 years old)
- Be Catholics who themselves have been baptized, confirmed, and share in the Eucharist, and are active, practicing, registered member(s) of a Catholic parish, whom are able to share their faith with the child (one Catholic godparent is required, although both a Catholic godmother and a Catholic godfather are preferred; a baptized, believing, and actively participating Christian who is not a Catholic may act as a Christian witness alongside a Catholic godparent)
- Be of different genders (if there is only one godparent, that godparent may be of either gender; if there are two godparents or one Catholic godparent and one Christian witness, they must be different genders)