Baptism

• One of the parents must be a baptised catholic.
• Your family must live within the parish boundary to have their child/children baptised at St Boniface.
• If this is not the case you need to speak with your own parish priest to arrange the baptism at your parish church.     OR
• If there is a special reason that you want your child/children baptised at St Boniface - i.e. the you were baptised or married at St Boniface - then you will need to obtain a letter of permission from your parish priest.
• To arrange a baptism it is necessary to make an appointment with one of the priests who will complete an application form and make arrangements for you, (the parent(s)), to attend a series of instructions on the last two Tuesdays evenings of the month at 7:30pm. These instructions are given by one of the priests.
• Baptisms are carried out, after the completion of the Baptismal Preparation course by parents, on the first & third Sunday of the month at 3:00 pm.
• All baptisms (including baptisms at St. George's Hospital) are entered in the baptismal register.
• Please give three days notice if you require a baptismal certificate. There is a fee of £3.00 which is payable when the certificate is requested.

What does the Church Teach? Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." This sacrament is called Baptism, after the central rite by which it is carried out: to baptize (Greek baptizein) means to "plunge" or "immerse"; the "plunge" into the water symbolizes the catechumen's burial into Christ's death, from which he rises up by resurrection with him, as "a new creature."