Questions?

Although no charge is made for the Sacrament itself, it is tradition to give an offering to the priest as a thank you. It doesn't have to be a large offering, £10 is sufficient, but you are free to give more, less, or nothing if you wish. But your offering goes a long way in supporting your priests and ensuring that there are priests for the future.

Have a word with the priest, who will ask you to fill in a form. Fill in as much of the form as you can. When you have filled in the form, the priest will contact you and ask you to come to see him. The priest will be available to answer any questions you may have.

Yes. A Certificate will be sent to you shortly after the day of the baptism. Copies of the baptism certificate are issued by the Priest for those who have lost their original Certificate. Please note that you will need to show your Baptism Certificate when starting school, First Holy Communion, Confirmation, and when getting married, so please keep it in a safe place.

Yes, the priest at your requested church of baptism should give you a form to be signed by the priest of this parish. Alternatively ask the priest to write to the parish of your choice. The priest can also give you verbal permission.

As many as you want, however, one must be Catholic, over the age of 16, attend church regularly, and have received communion. Please note, that there is only room in the baptismal registers to record the names of 4 Godparents. Those who are not Catholic, and Christian, may act as witnesses.

The priest will give you instruction before the baptism, and will prepare you for the baptism of your child. A day or two before the baptism, the priest will take you through the service, and will instruct you of its meaning, and of the promises you are making to God. He will show you where to sit, where the Godparents sit, and let you know how the service will progress. The priest will also answer any other questions you may have.

Baptisms are held every Sunday at 12.30pm either at Saints Mary and John or Saint Peter and Paul, whichever is your preferred Church. You will be given a date available when the priest is able to do the baptism . The priest will advise you of another date if the date given is unsuitable. Sometimes, parents may ask for a baptism to be done on a certain day and at a certain time, unfortunately because of other commitments the priest is only available on a Sunday at 12.30pm.

Although this is the proper place for baptism, the priest would advise that unless you attend Mass regularly, it is perhaps best to have a separate baptism. Baptism during Mass can make the Mass too long for younger children, and for the elderly.

This is the first question the priest asks parents at the baptism. It's not that the priest has suddenly gone senile, he has your child's name in front of him, but this is where you now name your child. You have given a lot of thought to your child's name, lets face it, they've got it for life, and they may alter it slightly as they get older and develop their own identity. It all goes to show how important our names are to us, and that was true in Jesus time too. Many parents give their children 'modern' names, and many of them are lovely. It is the tradition of the church that children are named after Saints, those who we look to as giving us a good example of how to live the Christian life. If you have given your child a modern name, then we ask you to consider giving your child a second 'middle' name, a Christian name, or perhaps make the 'modern' name the second name, to keep with the tradition of giving your child a Christian name, after all, you are asking your child to become a Christian, by having them baptised, so why not give them a Christian name.