Baptism

- The baptism of your child is an exciting moment in your life and the new life of your child! We are happy, grateful, and honored to join you in preparing for it.
  
  As you ask to have your child received into the Catholic faith community, you are asking the Church to join you in beginning a part of your child’s life that will literally last forever. That is why baptism is the first and foremost sacrament of initiation. You are saying that you value our Catholic spirituality and way of life and want to share this with your child – now and forever! What a wonderful beginning!
- As your child is welcomed and initiated into our Catholic (meaning “universal”) family throughout place and time, you are also embarking on a new journey as a parent. With the godparents, you are going deeper into the faith given to you long ago, so that you can pass it on to your child. So this becomes more than a tradition; it is a way of life you will walk together.
  
  This means that you will accompany your child on a spiritual journey that is rich in experience. You are making a commitment – to your child and to God – that you will live this Catholic faith, by attending Mass, celebrating the sacraments, and providing a spiritual foundation of values and practices, so that your child will have all the necessary resources to chart a course in this life – into eternal life.
  
  This is a most extraordinary gift and promise that you are giving to your child – and to God and God’s people: the Church. We look forward to accompanying you on this everlasting journey!
  
  The Church requires “there be founded hope that the infant will be brought up in the Catholic faith” (Code of Canon Law # 868). To help with this, parents need to:
  
  attend Mass
  
  complete a Registration Form and pay a $50 registration fee;
  
  participate in a baptism preparation class to be scheduled or from the past two years.
  
  If you are not regularly attending Santa Rosa Church for Mass, you will also need a letter from the priest at your parish, stating that you attend Mass there regularly.
  
  You only need to have one godparent, although most people choose to have two. In selecting a godparent, please look for someone who will help you encourage a living Catholic faith for your child. Godparents must:
  
  be practicing Catholics, providing a letter from their parish that they attend Mass regularly;
  
  provide a letter or certificate stating that they have completed baptism preparation within the last two years;
  
  if married, they need to be married in the Catholic Church, as a sign of living out their faith. (If a godparent cannot attend the ceremony, you may choose a proxy.)

Baptism

The baptism of your child is an exciting moment in your life and the new life of your child! We are happy, grateful, and honored to join you in preparing for it.