Beginning the Journey
Would you like to have your child baptized at St. Ann? We would be so honored to provide this opportunity for you and your family, and we hope it will be the beginning of many sacraments for your child here.
We celebrate infant baptisms for children under seven years old. Children ages seven and older are invited to prepare for and celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism through our RCIA Adapted for Children. If you're an unbaptized adult, check out our Christian Initiation program
THE CELEBRATION
CELEBRATING TOGETHER
Baptisms at St. Ann are celebrated in groups on two Saturday mornings each month in the Main Church. There is a limit on the number of children at each baptism. Availability is on a first come first serve basis. You may reserve your spots once you have completed the steps of the process outlined below.
TAKING THAT FIRST STEP
After you have reviewed all the information above the next steps are:
STEP 1: SIGN UP FOR AND ATTEND BAPTISM PREPARATION COURSE
The Baptism Preparation Course consists of 2 sessions, the Parent Formation Session and a follow-up Godparent Formation Session.
The Parent session usually takes place one Sunday a month at St. Ann from 6:00pm-8:00pm. Dinner is provided and Child Care for ages 6mo-12yrs is available upon request. Parents are welcome to bring their child with them to the class. You can register for the first session using this link. Families must pre-register for the course, walk-ins are not allowed.
Upon completing the Parent Session you will be sent the registration information for the Godparent session. The parents and selected Godparents/Christian Witness of the child must attend. The session will be virtual over zoom from 8:00pm-9:00pm on the dates provided in the registration.
In addition to these sessions being an engaging and interactive experience, you will learn more about the baptism process and how to schedule a date of baptism.
If you have attended a baptism class within the past 4 years, please provide a letter or certificate of completion in the registration or the date you completed the class if taken at St. Ann.
At the bottom of your Course Registration, there is a section to complete your My St. Ann account. If you do not have an existing My St. Ann account please create one, it will be necessary for the proceeding steps.
STEP 2: PREPARE AND RETURN PAPERWORK
You’ll need to gather information about your baby, your family, and your godparents.
We also have a non-refundable processing fee of $50 which covers details for the classes, the ceremony coordinator, and some of the items you will receive before the Baptism ceremony.
You can register your child for baptism using this link. Note that you should not fill out this registration without first creating your My St. Ann account.
We will also provide you with a Baptism Consent Form to be filled out and signed by the parents and Godparents after the Parent Session, or we will send it to you directly if you have completed a Baptism Formation class in the past 4 years. You may send the completed form in an email to our office.
A copy of the birth certificate is the only required item that we will allow you to submit separately after scheduling your baptism. However, it is necessary to provide a copy of the birth certificate before the date of baptism. We are only able to issue your child's baptism certificate once we have received an official state/city copy of your child’s birth certificate.
STEP 3: SCHEDULE BAPTISM DATE
Once you have attended both sessions and returned all required paperwork we will provide you a link to schedule the date for your child’s baptism.
Preparation: Growing Together
We are committed to giving parents, the first educators in the faith, the tools to help them raise their children in the faith, and godparents an understanding of how to support the parents in this glorious task.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Because the Church recommends that the baptism take place shortly after the birth of a baby, parents are encouraged to register for Baptism preparation during pregnancy. We encourage parents to sign up at least three months before the desired baptism date.
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After registering, parents attend sessions that are designed to connect you to the faith community, inspire you and your family wherever you are on your journey of faith and prepare you for a rich experience receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. The Baptism Preparation Course includes 2 sessions. You can find the information for our 3 Step Process at the bottom of this page.
Childcare is available during the Baptism Preparation Classes for children six months or older. Reservations must be made at least one week before your class.
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St. Ann baptism sessions are designed for families baptizing their child at St. Ann. (We don’t require registration in the parish in order to seek baptism. However, our course is designed for families who are seeking to have their child baptized AT St. Ann.) Both parents should attend each session and the Godparents must attend the second session.
For registered parishioners who have been asked to be a godparent of a child whose baptism will take place at another parish, email us as we are exploring alternate options to support you.
If you are not registered at St. Ann and are looking for a baptism class to attend in order to be a godparent at another parish, there are several online class options available. Please check with the parish where the child is being baptized to explore options.
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If you've already taken the classes at St. Ann or another parish within the past four years, you are not required attend the Parent Session. Please fill out the registration in Step 1 found at the bottom of the page, and you will find a section on the registration page to upload your previous Baptism Formation Certificate. You will then be sent the link to register yourselves and your child’s Godparents for the second Godparent Session.
CHOOSING GODPARENTS
Godparents have an essential role in the lives of those receiving the Sacrament of Baptism. Following are some helpful guidelines to remember as you select your godparents.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The role of the godparent is to be a Christian role model for the child. He or she should be a mature Christian who will establish a lifelong faith relationship and will be willing to walk with the child on his or her faith journey.
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The parents of the child select the godparents. The parents of the child are not permitted to act as a godparent for their child’s baptism. A godparent should be someone who will be a part of the child’s life on a continuing basis and be an excellent example of living the Catholic faith. If you are struggling to identify a godparent, please let us know if we can help you brainstorm possibilities!
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Godparents should be at least 16 years old. The role of godparent is an adult role, so be sure that if you ask a young person to carry out this duty that he or she is mature enough to fulfill the tasks.goes here
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Item descripYes, only fully initiated (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist) Catholics who attend Mass regularly and can receive the Eucharist are eligible to be godparents. An unbaptized or non-Christian person may not be a godparent for Baptism.
If you have potential godparents who have not been confirmed let us know and we can work toward helping them to be fully initiated into the Church. tion
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Item descriptionYes, if married, the godparent’s marriage must be recognized by the Catholic Church. If they are married civilly or in another Christian tradition, they are not eligible to serve as a godparent until their marriage has been validated by the Catholic Church.
God uses moments such as the baptism of a new baby in the family to bring about unity to the broader family with the Church. There are many different marriage situations and much confusion about teachings of the Catholic Church in this area. We are always interested to help work toward unity and reconciliation with families and the church so let us know if you have any questions or how we can help.
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We recommend selecting two godparents for your child, but you may decide to have only one. If you choose two godparents, one must be male and the other must be female, and both must meet all the requirements.Item description
“For the grace of Baptism to unfold, the parents’ help is important. So too is the role of the godparents, who must be firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized child or adult on the road of Christian life. ”