Congratulations on the birth of your child.

The Priests and people of St. Thomas More look forward to welcoming your child into the church and into our parish family.  We wish to do everything we can to provide a beautiful and meaningful Baptism Ceremony for you and your child.

In arranging a Baptism at St. Thomas More, the first step for parents is to contact one of the parish priests. The Introduction of The Rite of Baptism for Children in the Roman Catholic Church (hereafter referred to as Rite) speaks of the need for parents and priest to come together before Baptism:

Before the celebration of the sacrament, it is of great importance that parents moved by their own faith should prepare to take part in the rite with understanding. "The parish priest should make it his duty to prepare them for the coming celebration."

Sunday is the preferred day for all Baptisms.  "To bring out the paschal character of Baptism it is recommended that the sacrament be celebrated during the Easter Vigil or on Sunday, when the Church commemorates the Lord's resurrection."

Moreover, the Rite states: "as far as possible all recently born babies should be baptized at a common celebration on the same day."  The reason for a group celebration of Baptism is to show that while by birth a child enters in to an individual family, by Baptism the child is born anew into a larger family, the Church, which is the family of God.  "In this way it is clear that the faith in which the children are baptized is not the private possession of the individual family but is the common treasure of the whole Church of Christ."

For this reason we provide a solemn celebration of the sacrament involving several families most Sundays at 1:30 p.m. and we encourage all families in the parish to plan Baptisms at this time.

The Rite further directs, "except for a good reason, Baptism should not be celebrated more than once on the same day in the same church."

Accordingly, while we would discourage individual (private) Baptisms for the reasons indicated above, we would continue to schedule such when families have a good reason for such a request; but in keeping with the directives above, we would not schedule more than one on any particular day.

These directives from the ritual are formulated to insure that our Baptism celebrations express well and beautifully the theology of our Church regarding the importance and meaning of Baptism.

A Word About Godparents

What does the church say about sponsors (Godparents)?  We can look at the New Code of Church Law which became effective on November 27, 1983.

Canon 872 says:  "in the case of an infant Baptism, the sponsor's role is together with the parents to present the child for Baptism, and to help it to live a Christian life befitting the baptized and faithfully to fulfill the duties inherent in Baptism."

Canon 873 days:  "One sponsor, male or female, is sufficient, but there may be two, one of each sex."

Canon 874 says:  "to be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must:

• Be appointed by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing this, by the pastor; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it.
• Be not less than sixteen years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the pastor considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made.
• Be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken.
• Not be excommunicated.
• Not be either the father or mother of the person to be baptized.

A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a Catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the Baptism."

Canon 851 says:  "The parents of a child who is to be baptized, and those who are to undertake the office of sponsors, are to be suitably instructed on the meaning of this sacrament and the obligations attached to it."

From all the above we can see that choosing a godparent involves a serious, prayerful decision.

Please be sure that your child's godparents fulfill the requirements specified above.

After you have carefully made the selection, ask the godparents to get a testimonial letter from the priest in their own parish.  Bring the letters with you to the meeting with the priest.