Baptism of Children

Baptism is one of the Seven Sacraments of the Christian Church; frequently called the "first sacrament", the "door of the sacraments", and the "door of the Church". Baptism is the first of the Church’s Sacraments.  
​If you wish to baptise your child, please follow the details on this page
Requirements of the Church
For an infant to be baptised lawfully it is required:

  1. That  the  parents,  or  at least one of them, or the person who lawfully holds their place, give their consent.
  2. That there be well-founded hope that the child will be brought up in the Catholic religion. If such a hope is lacking, the baptism is in accordance with the provisions of particular law, to be deferred and the parents advised of the reason for this.  (Code of Canon Law para. 868.2).
  3. A minimum of two months notice must be given to the parish office.
  4. Your parish is the local church which has pastoral responsibility for the area in which you live, (not necessarily the church where you worship). If you wish to have your child baptised in a church where you have no residential qualification, a letter giving permission must be obtained from your own parish priest.
  5. Evidence of completion of a baptismal course. 
​
Baptism Preparation Course
The course looks at the importance of Sacraments in the Church; their relationship to each other and the impact of Baptism on the lives of the child and parents.  Finally there is an overview of the ceremony. In Guildford the Baptism Preparation Course covers the churches of St. Joseph, St. Mary, St Edward and St. Pius X.

Where does the course take place?
St. Joseph’s Church hall, GU1 4AZ

When does it take place?
We are currently planning the details for the Baptism Preparation Course hoping to start them again in the new school year.

Further Information?
In the meantime, please register on the database following the instructions carefully below.

Godparents
To be admitted to undertake the office of godparent, a person must:
  • Be over sixteen years of age, unless the parish priest considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made.
  • Be a practising Catholic who has been Confirmed and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken. A non-Catholic may act as a Christian witness to the Baptism in company with a Catholic sponsor.
  • Not be either the father or mother of the child to be Baptised.
​

To Apply for Baptism Preparation for your Child

For those wishing Baptism you must register with our church database, click here to fill in your household's details​ (please add your details and your partner and children.

Under "Areas of Interest" please click "Child Baptism Preparation" 

Under "Communication" please click "Receive general emails" and "Receive phone calls" so that we can email and call you about the next steps.

Once you are registered on the database, a member of staff will contact you, initially by email. If you have any queries please email baptism@cpg.church.

What if my household is already registered on the database?

If you are already registered on the parish database then please email baptism@cpg.church and let us know which child you are seeking to baptise.