Infant Baptism question

[Eowyn86]

I’ve got a few questions on infant baptisms. I recently moved and I’ve noticed some differences between parishes. In my old parish, infant baptisms were done during Mass, at the new parish, baptisms are done outside of Mass on a Saturday, with only the family present. It makes sense to me that it would be during Mass, since a baptism is officially welcoming the baby into the Church family. I prefer to see the baptisms during the Mass, but it appears my parish priest prefers it outside of Mass. Does it matter which way it’s done? Is it just a matter of preference? I ask because I have a new baby and would love to have him baptized during a Mass, but I want a bit of background information before I ask the priest about it.

Also, my inlaws live out of town and have requested that we postpone the baptism until they can come visit. I’d love for them to be there, but I thought that the baptism should be done right away after the baby is born. Is it alright to put it off for a few weeks, or is it better to get it done sooner and just have a celebration once everyone can get together?

Thanks.

 

[Brendan]

As far as having the Baptism at Mass or outside of Mass, either is acceptable to the Church, and is really at the discretion of the minister.

For timing on the Baptism, Canon law requires the Baptism within the first few weeks. That is someone subjective as a definitive number of weeks is not given. But it would be safe to say that within the first month.

Can. 867 §1. Parents are obliged to take care that infants are baptized in the first few weeks; as soon as possible after the birth or even before it, they are to go to the pastor to request the sacrament for their child and to be prepared properly for it.

§2. An infant in danger of death is to be baptized without delay.

 

[jojo96]

It’s whichever the parents prefer, we have baptisms during Mass now and then, but more commonly now they are after Mass. My parents waited a long time to baptize me because my grandparents wanted to be there, now she regrets it because I couldn’t fit into the family baptismal gown If the inlaws would be really offended by it though, I would wait.

 

[mab23]

my 4 month old isn’t baptized yet, i have an appt with the priest this Fri to talk to her about my wife doing RCIA , a wedding blessing and a baptism

In my opinion i think it’s a special occasion and you should wait for your family that wan’ts to be there to be there

Family is important -

I see the Canon law post above - and if your child is in danger of anything i would hurry but if not I would wait for Family - I think God would understand

 

[Gena]

Congratulations on your new baby!

Baptism within the Mass or outside of Mass is fine. The parish we belonged to when my son was born was very large and had many families. Most weekends (outside of Lent) there were 6-10 infants presented for baptism. The parish did the baptisms after the last Sunday morning Mass. Parents could request to have the baptism done during mass, but those slots filled up really fast.

Is your little one here yet, or are you still anticipating his/her arrival? With advanced planning it is possible to have out of town family attend and still have the baptism within the first few weeks. We had relatives come from 3 different states for my son’s baptism. We planned it before he was even born, so we knew his baptism date before we knew what his birth date would be. We scheduled the baptism for 4 weeks after the due date, but my little guy came late, so he was only 16 days old at his baptism. There were 10 babies baptized that day, many of them were several months old and one was close to a year.

 

[Cristiano]

my 4 month old isn’t baptized yet,** i have an appt with the priest this Fri to talk to her** about my wife doing RCIA , a wedding blessing and a baptism

In my opinion i think it’s a special occasion and you should wait for your family that wan’ts to be there to be there

Family is important -

I see the Canon law post above - and if your child is in danger of anything i would hurry but if not I would wait for Family - I think God would understand

I am sorry about being paranoid but I sincerely hope that you meant to type** to talk to him**.

 

[Eowyn86]

Thanks everyone! When I meet with Father, I am going to ask if it is possible to do it during a Mass. It is a big parish, so I suspect that a main reason for not doing baptisms during Mass is due to the large number of babies being born.

FIL’s job keeps him very busy so it’s rare that he’s able to get away even for a weekend. Hopefully we can get his schedule to fit in with the baptism. I’d love to be able to have most of the family present for such an important event.

Congratulations on your new baby!

Baptism within the Mass or outside of Mass is fine. The parish we belonged to when my son was born was very large and had many families. Most weekends (outside of Lent) there were 6-10 infants presented for baptism. The parish did the baptisms after the last Sunday morning Mass. Parents could request to have the baptism done during mass, but those slots filled up really fast.

Is your little one here yet, or are you still anticipating his/her arrival? With advanced planning it is possible to have out of town family attend and still have the baptism within the first few weeks. We had relatives come from 3 different states for my son’s baptism. We planned it before he was even born, so we knew his baptism date before we knew what his birth date would be. We scheduled the baptism for 4 weeks after the due date, but my little guy came late, so he was only 16 days old at his baptism. There were 10 babies baptized that day, many of them were several months old and one was close to a year.

Thank you, Baby is here already. I tried to set up a meeting about the baptism before he was born, but Father said that they wouldn’t start any baptism prep until after he’d arrived. With my other two we just had a one evening class that the parents did, but I’m not sure how it’s set up at this parish. I’m excited to start planning for his baptism!