Sacrament of Baptism

Preparation Of The Parents

Parents will need to attend and complete the Anchor Course before they can commence the Baptism Course.

This is to help parents be prepared so that the home aids in the formation for the children they wish to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.

Baptism Course

The canonical requirements should be fully respected which require for an infant to be baptised that there be ‘a well-founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic faith.’

If such a hope is truly lacking, the baptism should be delayed until the parents are ready to take on the serious responsibilities involved in having their children baptised (Canon 868).

This is why the proper preparation of parents for the baptism of their children is so essential.

Course Requirements

If you want your child (up to the age of 7 years) baptised, please make sure:

You have registered in the Parish;
You have acquired the habit of going to Mass on Sunday, as you will be making a vow before God to continue to do this
You speak to one of the Priests after Mass and introduce yourself
You first attend the Anchor Course.
- You only need to do Anchor once, so if you have already done it, you do not need to do it again.

You will also need two godparents who are practising Catholics and are Adults who are at least 16 years old and have received the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Course Dates

The dates for the next course will always be found on the Baptism Course Dates under Latest News.

The Baptism Course takes place in the Presbytery at St Francis de Sales, Wolverton.

Baptism Course Application

If you have fulfilled the requirement to do an Anchor Course in this Parish (or are currently registered for the next Anchor course), please complete the Application Form to register your interest in joining the next available course.

Your Name

First Name

Last Name

Your Telephone Number

Child's Name

Please enter the name of the child you wish to have Baptised.

First Name

Last Name

Child's Date of Birth

YYYY

Have you registered as a Parishioner?

You will need to register as a Parishioner in order to attend the Baptism Course

Yes

Have you completed an Anchor Course in this Parish?

You need to have completed an Anchor Course in the Parish in order to register for a Baptism Course.

Yes

No - Please pass my details to the Anchor Course team

Contacting the Baptism Team

Please complete the form below if you have any questions or to request further details.

By submitting your information, you consent to be contacted by us should we need to ask any questions.

Sacrament of Baptism - Infants

Once parents have completed the Anchor Course, and have then completed the Sacrament of Baptism Course in this parish, they can then apply to have their child Baptised at either St Francis de Sales Church or St Mary Magdalene Church.

If you have completed the Baptism Course in this parish, but are having your child(ren) baptised elsewhere, then you do not need to complete the Sacrament of Baptism Application Form for Infants - it is only needed for baptisms that will take place in this parish.

Please make sure that you enter all information accurately and spell all names correctly, as this will be used to produce a baptism certificate for your child and to make the entry in our baptism register.

Sacrament of Baptism - Application Form for Infants

Baptism For Other Age Groups

Adults wishing to be baptised will need to attend the RCIA course. Further details can be found here.

A young person who is 9 years old and above will need to attend the RCIA Youth course. Further details can be found here.

Baptism In An Emergency

In an emergency, a layperson can baptise in presence of witnesses using water, poured three times over the forehead touching the skin whilst saying these words:
‘N, I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’
Then they must notify the Parish Priest of the name, date, place and witness, godparents at the baptism.

More about the Sacrament of Baptism

Baptism is the gateway or doorway into eternal life, the Kingdom of God, and the Church. It is for this reason that traditionally baptismal fonts were situated at the back of the church near the door.

Through Baptism, we are raised up from our fallen state as creatures of the Old Creation to be born from above as a New Creation which is that of being an adopted son or daughter of God the Father, brother or sister of God the Son and a Temple of the Holy Spirit.

We speak of Baptism as Spiritual regeneration of our whole being.

It cleanses us from Original Sin which we inherited from Adam and Eve;
It infuses into our Soul Sanctifying Grace which was lost by the disobedience of Adam and Eve and is the grace of spiritual life that is life for the soul as the soul is the life of the body;
It infuses into our soul the Theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity and the Cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance and Fortitude by which we have a right relationship to God and to our neighbour;
It bestows upon your soul a permanent character which makes you Christ-like, namely, you are a priestly, royal and prophetic person who can never lose this character as it is indelible – it is also the reason why you cannot be baptised more than once;
Baptism establishes the inner integrity that we lost in the Fall, by which a right order is re-established between soul and the body, where the soul governs the body through the Intellect governing the Will and the Will ruling the Passions.

“In receiving Baptism these children obtain as a gift an indelible spiritual seal, the “character” that inwardly marks their belonging to the Lord for ever and makes them living members of his Mystical Body, which is the Church. While they become part of the People of God, today a journey begins for these children which must be a journey of holiness and of conformation to Jesus, a reality that is placed within them like the seed of a splendid tree whose growth must be nurtured.”

Pope Benedict XVI