Baptism – The Sacrament of Belonging

At the heart of life in our parish, and the Church, is the Sacrament of Baptism. It is through this gift from God that we are united with each other and with our Lord.

We are delighted that you wish to have your child baptised into the Catholic faith at Catholic Cathedral Parish.

In undertaking this, parents accept the responsibility of training their children in the practice of the faith, as well as ensuring they are brought up to keep God’s commandments, as Christ taught us.

Passing on the Church’s faith in the love of God and the values taught to us by Jesus Christ is the most important thing you can do as a parent to help your child develop into a healthy, well-rounded adult and to become the person that God has created your child to be.

Parents are the main influence of a child’s faith formation and preparation for baptism can help parents more fully embrace their role as primary teachers of the faith.

We have a process for how we baptise children at Cathedral Parish. All parents and godparents are asked to attend a baptism class, this helps the parents to understand more fully the teaching of the Church and the significance for the child of this special sacrament.

The baptism ceremony is usually celebrated at 11.30am on the last Saturday of the month.

As baptism is a celebration of your child’s entry into membership of the Catholic Church, it is good to celebrate this Sacrament together with other families who themselves have children to be baptised and the wider community of the parish who will also support the family as they go about raising their children in the ways of God.

Please download and complete the Baptism Information Form and hand it to one of the priests. Copies of this form are also available in the church foyer.

Notes:

• If you live outside our parish boundary and do not usually worship at Cathedral Parish, you should have your child baptised in the parish where you live. Please contact your local parish priest.
• If you were once a parishioner here and are coming back to Cathedral Parish (e.g. for Christmas or holidays) and wish to have your child baptised, please obtain a letter of permission from your parish for the baptism to be celebrated here. Forward this to us in good time before you arrive.

For adults wishing to be baptised the parish from time to time runs our Journey to Faith programme known as the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). This course of instruction consists of a series of weekly meetings usually over a nine month period. The adult enquirer should be regularly attending Sunday Mass for at least twelve months prior to beginning this course.

You can find more information on Becoming a Catholic here.