Requirements for the Sacrament of Baptism
Congratulations! God has blessed you! Now you are preparing to celebrate or anticipating celebration of Baptism in the Catholic Church for your son or daughter. Through Baptism your child will become a disciple, part of the body of Christ. Through Baptism you affirm that you will raise your child in the practice of the faith. The parish community rejoices with you as we prepare to welcome a new member who will grow in faith, serve others and join us in the praise of God. The information on this page will assist you in preparing for the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism. The guidelines contained within are part of the Church laws contained in Canon Law. This law governs all Catholics of the Latin Rite.
Requirements:
- The parents should be parishioners
- In a case where they are not parishioners, they should bring a letter from the parish where they belong.
- In a case where they are not parishioners and have no letter to show that they belong to another parish, they should register in the parish and show their willingness to continue as parishioners by attending Sunday Mass regularly as least six weeks before the baptism of their child.
- The godparents should be a man and a woman (not two men or two women) or only one godparent: a man or a woman
- The godparents must be baptized and confirmed Catholic Christians. If the godparents are married, they must have been sacramentally married. If they are not married they must be at least sixteen years of age who are practicing their Catholic faith and should not be living with a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
- In a situation where it becomes very difficult to get two people qualified as stated above, the Church can accept one of the godparents with the above qualification while the second person could stand in as a witness.
- The parents and godparents must attend at least one preparatory class with the priest or a designated catechist. The priest can however excuse them from such a class if there is evidence to show that they have attended such a class within a period of not less than three years. If the godparents cannot attend the class due to distance, they can attend it in the parish where they belong and bring a note to this effect from the parish where the class was attended.
- The consent of the priest is needed in establishing a date for the baptism.
- For more information or questions contact the parish priest
St. Theresa Catholic Church - Cordele, Georgia 