The practise of your Faith

At a baptism, the priest or deacon says these words to the parents:

PRIEST/DEACON: You have asked to have your child baptized. In doing so you are accepting the responsibility of training him (her) in the practice of the faith. It will be your duty to bring him (her) up to keep God’s commandments as Christ taught us, by loving God and our neighbour. Do you clearly understand what you are undertaking?

PARENTS: We do.

These words indicate that the parents have freely asked to have their child baptised and that they are accepting “the responsibility of training him or her in the practice of the faith.”

Of course, parents can only train their child in the practice of the faith if they are meeting Christ weekly at Sunday Mass themselves. It is at Sunday Mass that Christ speaks to us as friends through his living word, the Sacred Scriptures, and feeds us with his own divine life in Holy Communion.

If you are practising your faith, then this is a grace-filled moment to deepen your friendship with Christ through his Church. The blessing of your child is also a moment of renewal for your own faith as you recognise the goodness of God and his plan for your family.

If you are not practising your faith, then Christ is inviting you to restore your relationship with him and re-establish the bonds of friendship with Him. The baptism of your child is also an opportunity for you to renew your own baptismal promises by joining the parish family at Sunday Mass. Find out more

However, if you have no desire or intention to practice your faith, then you must consider with what honesty and integrity you can answer “We do” on behalf of your child on the day of their baptism.

Belonging to the parish family

All the members of our parish family are valued and known to us. At the same time, they all willingly contribute weekly to the family household, the parish. Therefore, we are asking you to:

Please register so that we know that you are a member of the parish family. Even if you have registered in the past, we ask you to do so again in order that we can ensure that our parish database is up to date.

Please Register your details on the Parish Database

Preparing for your child’s baptism

To help parents reflect on the meaning of baptism and the celebration of a baptism, we require parents to attend two sessions:

Session 1: What is baptism?

Session 2: What happens at a baptism?

It is important that both parents of the child attend both sessions in order that they have a clear idea of the commitments that they will make on behalf of their child. If you are a single parent, we invite you to attend.

If possible, it would be helpful if parents could arrange child care while they attend these sessions. This will give you and those attending a bit of time and space to reflect on the sessions.

Session 1 and Session 2 will take place in the Cathedral Small Hall.

Once you have completed Step 2 above, please book on to these sessions by emailing the parish office or telephoning 01277 265235.

Only when parents have completed all three “steps” and have attended both sessions, can they contact the parish office to arrange a date for their child’s baptism.

PLEASE NOTE In order to keep up with demand and not have such long waiting times for when it comes to families booking Baptisms once they have completed the course, please be aware that, as of January 2025, Baptisms will be celebrated for 2 families at a time.

Restrictions during the Covid pandemic showed that baptisms with small numbers of people proved to be intimate, prayerful and more respectful.

Parents who have enjoyed such baptisms comment on how this experience is spiritually more meaningful and less stressful in terms of organisation.

Many parents are now deciding to have godparents and immediate family at the Church for the baptism of their child, and then inviting other guests to join them for any celebration afterwards.

We encourage parents to think seriously about those they will invite to this sacred moment in their child’s life.