The sacraments
Baptism
Celebrated on the second and fourth Sunday of each month. Parents attend one preparation session; please contact the office at least a month ahead.
All seven sacraments- What is it?
- The first of the sacraments. A child or an adult is baptised with water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and becomes a member of the Church.
- Who is it for?
- Children of the parish, at any age, and adults, who prepare through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.
- When is it celebrated?
- On the second and fourth Sunday of each month.
- How far in advance?
- At least a month before the Sunday you have in mind, so there is time for the preparation session.
- Preparation
- One preparation session for the parents. Godparents are welcome at it, and a godparent should be a practising Catholic who has been confirmed.
- Who should I contact?
- The parish office, during office hours.
- What happens next?
- The office fixes the Sunday with you and enters the baptism in the parish register. A priest goes through the rite with you before the day.
- Documents to bring
-
- The child’s birth certificate
- The parents’ marriage certificate
- The godparents’ baptism and confirmation certificates, if the parish asks for them
Common questions
Godparents
- Who can be a godparent?
-
A Catholic who has been confirmed, has received Holy Communion, and lives the faith. With the parents, the godparent presents the child for baptism and helps them grow up in a Christian life.
A baptised Christian of another church may stand beside a Catholic godparent as a Christian witness to the baptism. A member of an Eastern Orthodox Church may be a godparent together with a Catholic one, provided the child will be brought up Catholic.
- Our chosen godparent cannot be there on the day.
-
They can still be the godparent, by proxy, if they have agreed to it in writing. Someone else stands in for them at the font.
Families and records
- Can our child be baptised if we are not married?
-
Yes. No law of the Church forbids it. One parent asks, and the parish needs to be confident that the child will be brought up Catholic.
The mother’s name is entered in the register. The father’s name is entered only if he agrees, or if it already appears on the municipal birth certificate or the hospital records.
- We are baptising our adopted child.
-
The register records you as the child’s parents, noting that you are the adoptive parents. The birth parents’ names are added only if you wish it and they do not object.
- I cannot find my baptism certificate.
-
Ask the parish where you were baptised first: the record is kept there, even when the certificate is lost.
If no record can be found, a sworn statement can stand in for it. If you were baptised as an adult, your own is enough. If you were baptised as a baby, a parent or someone who was there may swear to it. When it still cannot be known for certain, you are baptised conditionally, and the register says why.
Becoming Catholic
- I was baptised in another Christian church. How do I become Catholic?
-
You begin by learning the faith with a priest. He then looks at how you were baptised. A valid baptism is never repeated, and baptism in the Eastern Churches is presumed valid; if there is real doubt, you are baptised conditionally. You are then received into the Catholic Church.
- I am not a Christian, and would like to become Catholic.
-
You need to be of age. You are prepared in the faith, and sign a statement that you are becoming Catholic of your own free will. The parish then asks the Archbishop’s permission, and you are baptised in the rite for adults.
- I belong to an Eastern Church. Would I become Latin Catholic?
-
No. An Eastern Christian received into the Catholic Church keeps their own Eastern rite, and belongs to the Eastern Catholic Church of that tradition.
Moving from an Eastern Catholic Church to the Latin Church needs the written consent of the bishops of both dioceses. A husband or wife may also join their spouse’s Church, by declaring it before a priest and two witnesses when they marry or later, and may return if the marriage ends.
- Which Church does our child belong to, Latin or Eastern?
-
A child under fourteen belongs to the Latin Church if both parents do, whatever rite the baptism is celebrated in. If only one parent is Latin, the child is Latin when both parents agree; if they do not agree, the child belongs to the father’s Church. From fourteen, a young person chooses for themselves.
Start here
Ask the parish office.
Tell us a little about yourself and we will take it from there. Everything for Baptism begins with this one conversation.
The office is open Monday to Saturday, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM. You can also write to po at olof.in.