Baptism for Infants and Children

The expectiation of the Church for the parents who present their child for Baptism includes the following:

• One of the parents must give evidence of practicing the Catholic faith.

• They must be registered members of the parish (4 months) with exceptions made for grandchildren of our parishioners as long as the parents of the child present a letter from the pastor of their church where they worship and they meet all St. Monica's baptismal requirements.

• The parents and godparents must attend a Pre-Baptismal Class at St. Monica or at their home church.  Please arrange in advance by calling the Parish Office.

• Both parents must attend an interview with Fr. Paul Coleman, Parochial Administrator.

Our baptisms are celebrated generally on Saturdays at 11:00 am or Sundays at 1:00 pm with the exception of Easter Sunday and the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January when they are celebrated during the Sunday Mass. No baptisms are scheduled during Lent.  Also, as per Catholic tradition, the infant must be dressed in white.

When choosing a godparent, Canon Law 874 requires that the godparent be 16 years of age and fully initiated into the Catholic Church by receiving the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on.  It is required that each child to be baptized have at least one Catholic godparent.

It is customary that the family make a free-will offering to the church at the time of their child's baptism. The average offering at St. Monica is $100.