Infant Baptism

If you are planning to have your baby baptized in the Catholic faith, please follow these instructions:

1. Infant Baptism is for children from infancy to six years of age.

2. To request Baptism at St. Jude the family should ordinarily be members of the parish or reside within our parish boundaries.

3. Complete the Sacrament of Baptism Registration form.

4. Attach a copy of the child’s original Birth Certificate to the form.

5. Attend a Baptism Preparation Class. These classes are offered through St. Jude once a month.  Class registration forms are available online.  You may be considered exempt from taking the class (if you have had a child baptized into the Catholic faith, or have taken a Baptism Prep class within the last 3 years).

6. Forms for registering for the Baptism Preparation Class are available online and must be received prior to the scheduled class.  Preparation classes are offered on the 4th Saturday of most months from 9:00 am - 11:30 am in the Lecture Hall (PC406).  There is a $10 per person fee for parents. Godparents are no charge.  Nursery is available upon request - when filling out the Baptism Class registration form please note that you will need nursery. It's important that parents are able to fully concentrate on the information presented in the class.
   
   Online baptism class is offered by Ascension Press at www.ascensionpress.com. Go to "Shop". Then scroll down and click on "Sacramental Preparation" then chose ‘Belonging: Baptism in the Family of God". Finally, choose "Online Certification Course". There is a $9.95 fee. You can also complete the classes in Spanish by using the above instructions from ascensionpress.com and choose the Spanish program.

7. Choose a Godparent or Godparents according to the listed requirements. The Canon Law of the Catholic Church requires a male Godparent, or a female Godparent, or one of each.  Before selecting Godparents, please carefully review the Godparent Information Form.  If you only have one Godparent, then a second person can be named as a “Christian Witness" provided they practice another Christian faith.

8. All required letters and outstanding forms must be in the church office two weeks prior to the anticipated Baptism date.  

If you wish to have your child (under the age of seven) baptized, please contact Sara Walsh at x2210 (or by email at [email protected]) for information about the preparation classes.

Children Baptism

Children who have reached the “age of discretion” (7-years-old) must be initiated (baptized and confirmed) using the Rite of Initiation of Adults, adapted for children.

If you wish to have your child (over the age of seven) baptized, please contact the Children’s Ministries office Julie Buchanan at x2225 for information about the preparation classes.

Please also review our FAQ concerning Baptisms.

Adult Baptism

Adults seeking baptism need to proceed through the Rite of Initiation of Adults (RCIA program with the assumption that their baptism in the Catholic Church signifies their desire to become Catholic as well.  RCIA will prepare the adults for the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Reconciliation.  Please contact Della Doss  at x2230 if you are interested in this program.

Click here to read more about our RCIA program.