Congratulations on the new member of your family!
Our Catechism states, “Baptism makes us members of the Body of Christ: "Therefore… we are members one of another."71 Baptism incorporates us into the Church. From the baptismal fonts is born the one People of God of the New Covenant, which transcends all the natural or human limits of nations, cultures, races, and sexes: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body."72 1267
To prepare well for this big start in your child's life, be sure to start preparing weeks before the desired date.
1. Choose the godparents.
The choice of godparents is very important, as they will serve as a model for the child in their religious life, living a fully Christian life and encouraging the child to experience the Catholic faith.
Traditionally there are two godparents, a man and a woman, and this practice continues to be strongly encouraged, however, if the family wishes to have godparents for the consecration and even presentation, our church will be in agreement, as long as they notify the priest in advance.
Canon law requires that godparents meet the following requirements:
- Be Catholic
- Have been baptized, received first communion and confirmation
- Be 16 years of age or older (although bishop may make rare exceptions)
- Be living a conscious life with your own baptismal vows (singles living alone, married couples married in church)
To perform the baptism in our church, we need certificates from each godparent and a note from the church they both attend saying that they follow a fully Catholic life.
NOTE: if the godfather or godmother is married, only the marriage certificate is valid, if not, the certificates for all sacraments are required. If the person does not have one because they are from another country, we need a letter from the parish where the person received the sacraments confirming that they received them.
2. Interview with the parish priest
After choosing the godparents and gathering their documents, the parents will call the parish office and ask to schedule a meeting with the priest. We are going to give a form to fill out before the interview with the father.
Don't forget to bring the godparents' documents and the birth certificate of the baptized child. WE DO NOT NEED ANY DOCUMENTS FROM THE PARENTS, ONLY FROM THE GODPARENTS AND THE CHILD.
The godparents will not need to attend the interview.
3. Baptism course
After the interview with the priest, and everything is ok, we will schedule the baptism course.
The baptism course always takes place on the third Thursday of the month, at night, and baptism on Saturday of the same week. Parents and godparents have to attend the course and it lasts just one hour.
The course will take place according to the main language of the baptized person's family.
4. Baptism
After the baptism course, the family must prepare for the baptism on Saturday, if the family has a date in mind, the interview is the time to say, whether the family wants a priest who speaks Portuguese or Spanish, the interview and the time to tell the priest everything, as we will have time to arrange for the baptism.
- If the family does not receive the certificate on the day of the baptism, please call the parish office that we have provided for you.
- The cost of baptism is $150. Payment can be made both on the day of the interview and on the day of the baptism. Directly with the secretary, please do not give payment to the teacher in the baptism course, as we need to provide a receipt.
If you have any questions or doubts, do not hesitate to call the parish office.
Jesus asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Where do you live?”
Jesus said, “Come and see.”
The RCIA is the process by which adults enter the Catholic Church. As a process of conversion, the team members help, support and encourage the spiritual journey of each person in responding to the Lord’s call to “come and see.”
The goal is discipleship into the Christian way of life. The language of becoming a disciple is the language of the heart. It is about human interaction, prayer, intellectual study, the people in our lives, the people of the Sacred Scriptures, and the people in the Church.
There are celebrations along the way to reaching the glorious Easter Vigil where together with the parish community we celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. It is a learning and loving process where the Spirit leads you to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.