RITE OF BAPTISM (For Children Under the Age of 7)
Congratulations on the birth of your child!
We look forward to welcoming your child into God’s family and as a member of the Holy Family community.
To begin the process for Baptizing your child at Holy Family, South Pasadena, CA please submit the Baptism Registration Form. Once this form has been completed, you will be contacted via email from Holy Family Church to assist you in scheduling your meeting with Fr. Albert or Fr. Andrew. If you need help in scheduling, please contact Reception at 626.799.8908 or e-mail reception@holyfamily.org. You will also need to provide an e-copy or hard copy of the child’s birth certificate. Once the meetings & classes have been completed and the birth certificate received, they will contact you about setting the date for the Baptism.
- All are welcome at Holy Family Parish and we would love for you to become an active registered parishioner. However, registration at Holy Family Church is not required. At least one parent has to be Catholic.
- Donations: May be given in person to the receptionist or online.
- Baptisms are offered inside the Church. The Baptism Ministry continues to work hard to assure that all will be safe and those attending your children’s celebration can have peace of mind that all precautions and protocols are being observed.
- Up to six families may have a child or children baptized on any Saturday or Sunday that has Baptisms scheduled. Baptisms usually occur three times a month, one Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and two Sundays of the month at 2:00 p.m. See the Baptism Pamphlet 2022 for the specific dates.
- Godparents: A maximum of two godparents (one male and one female) will appear on the Baptismal Certificate. However, at least one has to be Catholic. If a Catholic godparent is married, their marriage must be witnessed in the Church.
- Duration: The service lasts about an hour.
- Required Parent Class– taken via Zoom or in-person. Zoom and in person classes are scheduled multiple times per month. Zoom classes require access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Zoom meetings attended via computer/tablet require the Zoom Application to be downloaded. The Zoom Meeting Room and Passwords will be supplied a day or so before the meeting. The in-person classes are scheduled at the facilitators home.
The Sacrament of Baptism is a wonderful time in your child’s life; he/she is welcomed as a newly baptized person into God’s Church and the Holy Family Community. As a parent, you are the first example of God’s grace and love to your child; being attentive to the lessons offered in the classes affords you as a parent the opportunity to connect with the grace and the love of God. We ask that the parents give the 90 minutes their full attention, free from distractions and interruptions, so that the information can flow freely.
- Required Godparent and Parent Class – can only be taken in person. Once the first class has been attended, families can then schedule the class for Parents and Godparents in the Church. This class is scheduled once a month.
If the Godparent(s) live outside of the area, they may take the equivalent class at their local parish and provide a letter of completion to HFC Reception.
Please note that the Pastoral Center at Holy Family Church is open for walk-ins. Information may be transmitted electronically or provided in person.
If you will need a certificate of class completion (if your child will be baptized at a parish other than Holy Family or you are a godparent for a child that will be baptized at another parish), these certificates will be available at the completion of the class or mailed from the Church to the physical address supplied.
In the email you will receive the week of your child’s Baptism, you will receive additional information about the logistics of the rite as well as where to find additional information as the parents of a newly Baptized person.
Requests for Private Baptisms, when there are valid reasons, should be discussed when meeting with Fr. Albert or Fr. Andrew. A fee of $250 is required to reserve the Church. This fee covers the stipend for a Sacristan and the utilities for the Church. There would be an additional fee for music.
A summary of the traditional Rite of Baptism for children under the age of 7.
The Rite of Baptism for infants begins with the parents asking the church to baptize their child. The bishop, priest, or deacon, in turn, makes the sign of the cross on the child and invites the parents and godparents to do the same. A lector, or the priest or deacon, then reads a passage from Scripture. Following the reading, the priest or deacon anoints the child on the forehead, lips, throat and chest with holy oil. The anointing is to protect the child from spiritual harm.
Everyone present at the baptism is invited to make a profession of faith and reject evil. The parents and godparents make this profession on behalf of the child and promise to provide for the child’s religious formation.
The family is invited near the baptismal font. The celebrant (bishop, priest or deacon) blesses the water. Usually a parent holds the child over the baptismal water font as the celebrant says, “[Child’s name] I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” All present respond “Amen.” At the threefold prayer, the celebrant three times pours water over the child’s forehead. The ritual of immersion or washing helps us understand that our sins are cleansed as we die with Jesus, and we are filled with divine light and life as we rise from immersion in the water or are cleaned by the pouring.
Following the immersion, the celebrant (priest or deacon) anoints the newly baptized with the sacred chrism (a perfumed oil), so that united with God’s people, the child may remain forever as a member of Christ, who is priest, prophet and king.
After the anointing with chrism the child is given a white garment, a symbol that the child is clothed in Christ’s protective love. A lit candle is given to the child’s family to remind the child and all of us that as baptized people, we are to be lights for our world.
