Requirements
Baptisms during Mass:
St. John’s celebrates infant and child baptism during Sunday or Saturday Mass. We ask that you plan to have your child’s baptism during a Mass that you would normally attend.
Membership:
-
Membership is required for baptism either in our parish or from another parish. This is St. John’s process of connecting families to the church and it becomes a sign of commitment in raising your children in the Catholic faith from you, the parents, to the church. If you are a family from another parish it will be important that you provide membership documentation and preparation information from your parish priest. If you are not a member of a parish and you are living outside of Mankato, we will require you to join a parish in your community. We will then need written testimony of your membership and the necessary preparation information before we can begin the rite of baptism.
-
If you are a member of St. John’s and would like to have a baptism at another parish, it will be important to contact that parish and seek their requirements. Once you have completed this step you will then call or email the Director of Family Ministry for further instruction.
Godparents/Sponsors:
You will need a minimum of one godparent/sponsor and no more than two. This individual will need to be a practicing confirmed Catholic of adult age. Please see Godparents information below for further instruction.
Preparation
-
Parents of a 2nd child, 3rd, 4th, etc. must have participated in a baptismal class or a Pre-Jordan visit with in the last three (3) years. In special cases, baptisms may also be celebrated at other times by special arrangements, but it is necessary to call the Director of Family Ministry for dates and details.
Process
The baptism of infants is the Church's loving embrace of the infant who is formed in Catholic habits throughout his or her life by the Catholic family (the domestic church). When a child begins initiation into the Catholic life as an infant, the process and preparation occurs throughout the life of the child. The baptized child gradually absorbs faith and faith practices from the family and celebrates the other sacraments of initiation later in life. Baptisms generally take place during mass and are scheduled four weeks out from the preferred baptismal date. Therefore the first step is to:
-
Call the Parish Director of Family Ministry at 507-387-6928, email, or call the parish office at 507-625-3131 to schedule the baptism date that is a minimum, of four weeks out of your initial contact with the D.F.M.During the initial contact important information will be gathered including the baptism date, membership status, etc.
-
If you are a first time parent or in need of a Pre-Jordan visit you will receive information at this time.
Godparents/Sponsors
Godparents are an important ingredient to the faith development of children. They too will make a promise during the rite of baptism. They will promise to accept the responsibility of helping the parents raise their child in the Catholic faith, the Catholic Church and are in partnership with the parents as ministers in the domestic church.
Knowing that a godparent or godparents will make this promise, it is important that you spend discernment time on the need to find good practicing Catholics for godparents. Search for those you feel who can be the faith partner throughout the life of your baptized child. Sadly, this task can be very difficult in today's world. The best place is to look for relatives, even grandparents, who have a blood relationship with the godchild and have kept the faith over the years.
Good friends are also appropriate, but sometimes friendships wane, leaving the godchild without an active godparent.
Godparents should be faithful individuals who are ready to accept the responsibility of being a part of a godchild's life for the rest of his/her life. In all, godparents serve a special role in the life of the baptized person. Therefore, each parent should choose a godparent not just because of a blood relationship or friendship; rather, a godparent should be trustworthy witnesses of the faith who will help the godchild attain salvation.
Brief History and Canon
History
The role of the godparent for baptism is rooted in the role of the sponsor in the catechumenate, which originated in the early Church. Until the Middle Ages, the Sacraments of Initiation — baptism, holy Eucharist, and confirmation — were administered at once. The role of the sponsor then was to attest to the integrity of the person, oftentimes an adult, seeking admission into the Church as well as to assist him during the catechumenate in preparing for these sacraments and in living a Christian life.
For infants, these sponsors would also make the Profession of Faith in the child's name and accept the responsibility of instructing the child in the faith, especially if the parents failed in this duty. About the year 800 when infant baptism was truly the norm, these sponsors were called "patrinus," or "godfather." Traditionally, we identify the sponsor of a child for baptism as the godparent — godmother or godfather, but the technical term remains "sponsor."
Canon Law
According to the Code of Canon Law, "Insofar as possible, one to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who is to assist an adult in Christian initiation, or, together with the parents, to present an infant at the baptism, and who will help the baptized to lead a Christian life in harmony with baptism, and to fulfill faithfully the obligations connected with it" (Cf. Code of Canon Law, No. 872).
This statement clearly reflects the historical roots of the role of sponsor. To be a sponsor, a person must be chosen by the person to be baptized, or by the parents or guardians of a child, or, in their absence, by the pastor or minister of the sacrament.
The sponsor must not only have the intention of being a sponsor but also meet proper qualifications. The sponsor must have completed his sixteenth year unless the Bishop has established another age for sponsorship, or the pastor or minister judges that a just cause warrants an exception to the rule.
He/She must be a Catholic who has received the sacraments of holy Eucharist and confirmation, and "leads a life in harmony with the faith and the role to be undertaken." Moreover, the sponsor cannot be impeded by some canonical penalty.
Ideally, this sponsor at baptism should also be the sponsor for confirmation. Note that the mother and father of the child cannot serve as sponsors. Also note that these are the same requirements for confirmation sponsors (Cf. Code of Canon Law, No. 874.1).
Strictly speaking, a person only needs one sponsor for baptism — male or female, but may have two sponsors, one male and one female. Here the Code of Canon Law wants to eliminate the practice of having numerous sponsors, as has occurred in some cultures (Cf. Code of Canon Law, No. 873).
Also, in the case of an emergency, such as imminent death, no sponsor is needed.
Who qualifies as a Catholic godparent? A Catholic who practices the faith by regularly attending Mass or who is in a valid marriage qualifies himself/herself as being a godparent. Moreover, if a person is Catholic but antagonistic to the faith, i.e. has the attitude "I am a Catholic but...," would not be a good example and witness to the faith therefore disqualifying him/her. If a person is not striving to fulfill his/her own obligations of baptism and confirmation, he/she will not fulfill the responsibilities of helping another to do so.
What if someone would like to have a faithful Protestant friend as a sponsor? Technically, only Catholics can be godparents or sponsors. A Christian of another denomination, whether Orthodox or Protestant, however, may be a "Christian witness" to the baptism along with the Catholic godparent.
The reason for this distinction and restriction is that the godparent not only is taking responsibility for the religious education and spiritual formation of the baptized person, but also is representing the Church, the community of faith, into which the person is being baptized. A Christian who is not Catholic, although perhaps a very holy, Christian, cannot fully attest to the beliefs of the Catholic Church. Likewise, a Catholic can only be a Christian witness for someone who is baptized into another Christian denomination. (Cf. Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, No. 57).
Role of godparent:
Being a godparent is about a lot more than being a teacher or a preacher or an authority figure. Being a godparent is about being a role model, someone to look up to, to emulate. This doesn’t call for perfection, or there would be no godparents. But it does call for faith, and for faithfulness; it calls for a clear vision, and for honesty; it calls for enduring hope and everlasting love. This is a role that is meant to last a life time.
“Godparents are present in order to represent both the expanded spiritual family of the one to be baptized.” (General Introduction RCIA no. 8) It only makes sense that the godparent should become more than a passive participant. More than a person who stands at the altar and mechanically responds “I will.”
“Godparents need to take an active role to help the parents so that children will become to profess the faith and live up to it.” (General Introduction RCIA no. 8) Godparents are not the legal guardians, someone to just remember birthdays or just the person to call on to baby-sit. However, those are important attributes and can bring upon a bonding relationship and bring joy to the child over the years; but the godparents are adults who are dedicated to the spiritual and moral development of a child.
They are the person or persons who will be active throughout the child’s’ life. This may seem difficult to accomplish but there are many ways to do this and there are many resources available to you to help in this task at your locale book stores and on the internet.
Requirements for baptism at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church:
The vision of Pope John XXIII was to help Catholics live out their faith in the world today. This vision is being kept in mind as these requirements are created. It is important to note that assigning godparents to be partners in faith development of the infant should be a faith filled discerning process. Keep in mind that together with the parents, godparents also present an infant at the baptism, and will make a promise to help the baptized to lead a Christian life in harmony with baptism, and to fulfill faithfully the obligations connected with it. With that in mind the following are the requirements for selecting godparents:
- St. John’s prefers two godparents; one male and one female:
- Two confirmed adult, practicing Catholics are recommended as godparents. The two must be of opposite sex as it will not be acceptable to allow two males or two females as godparents.
- “Those designed as godparents must have received the three sacraments of initiation, baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, and be living a life consistent with faith and with the responsibility of a godparent. Those designed as godparents must also be members of the Catholic Church and be canonically free to carry out this office.” (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, General Introduction no. 3)
-
However, one confirmed Catholic godparent is sufficient preferably one being the same gender as the infant.Must not be the father of mother of the one being baptized, but can be the grandparents.
-
At St. John’s, when having two godparents, it is permissible to have one not be of the Catholic faith. However, we prefer that the one not of the Catholic faith take on the role as witness to the baptism.
“At the request of parents, a baptized and believing Christian not belonging to the Catholic Church may act as a Christian witness along with a Catholic godparent.” (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, General Introduction no. 4)
The reason for this distinction and restriction is that the godparent not only is taking responsibility for the religious education and spiritual formation of the baptized person, but also is representing the Catholic Church, the community of faith, into which the infant is being baptized. That person who is not of the Catholic faith will find it difficult to be in accord with the baptismal promises made before the faithful of the church. A Christian who is not Catholic, although perhaps a very holy, Christian, cannot fully attest to the beliefs of the Catholic Church.
Preparation
Although St. John’s does not require sacramental preparation for godparents we do like to invite them to the Pre-Jordan visit. As it was explained earlier, being a godparent is more than it use to be. Preparation is needed to help the godparent understand their role. Parents can do this by simply asking them if they are capable of being the faith life partner to their baptized child and by explaining to them what that means. Informing them ahead of time about their godparent promises will help them to become that faithful godparent.
Younger and Older Children
Sometimes children who have reached catechetical age or older would like to become a member of the Catholic faith community. It may be that parents have returned to the church, or have put off baptizing their children; it could be a variety of reason which has called them to become baptized Catholic Christians. But, what ever the reason might be, we are glad you came to us. Being that these individuals are no longer infants but of catechetical age calls for a more formal process of initiation. “The Christian initiation of these children requires both a conversion that is personal and somewhat developed, in proportion to their age, and the assistance of the education they need. The process of initiation thus must be adapted both to their spiritual progress, that is, to the children’s growth in faith, and to the catechetical instruction they receive.” (RCIA 253)
Requirements, Role, Process:
The requirements generally follow the rule above. Changes will be made according to individual circumstances. Parent and guardian roles and requirements are the same as well.
Preparation:
Children or parents/guardians who would like their child baptized require a higher attitude toward Catholic habits and practices. These children will need proper preparation before they are to receive the sacrament of baptism. Please call the Director of Family Ministry if you have a child in need of baptism.
Adult Baptism
Baptismal Rite, Process and Preparation
Adult baptisms follow the guidelines presented in the Rite of Christian Initiation (RICA). You will be required to speak with the RCIA minister to begin your Christian initiation into the faith community. Please follow this link, RCIA, for more details. |
![Text Box: Insightful facts: • Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. • Baptism, the door to life and to the kingdom of God, is the first sacrament of the New Law, which Christ offered to all, that they might have eternal life. [John 3:5] He later entrusted this sacrament and the Gospel to his Church, when he told his apostles: Go, make disciples of all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.[Matthew 28:19] • Baptism is above all, the sacrament of that faith by which, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we respond to the Gospel of Christ. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. Far superior to the purifications of the Old Law, baptism produces these effects by the power of the mystery of the Lord's passion and resurrection. • Those who are baptized are united to Christ in a death like his;[Romans 6:4-5] buried with him in death, they are given life again with him, and with him they rise again.[Ephesians 2:5-6] Baptism recalls and makes present the paschal mystery itself, because in baptism we pass from the death of sin into life.](http://stjohnscatholicchurch.com/images/clip_image002_003.gif)
