- What is Baptism?
- Faith within the Community
- Baptism Preparation at SS Joseph & Swithun
- 2026: Dates for prepration courses
- Downloads Baptism Registration Form
What is baptism?
Baptism is the sacrament that opens the door of faith to your child.
God reaches out to us in all kinds of ways. One of them is the desire in your heart to baptise your child. The promises you make for your child on this day will help to develop your child into a faith-filled and faithful follower of Christ.
But the day of baptism is only the beginning of your role. Being baptised is a life-changing event – and not just for your child.
Faith within the community
When you call our parish to arrange your child’s baptism, you may be surprised to find out how much emphasis we place on preparation and your own practice of the faith. The Church wants to know what examples you, as his or her first teachers in faith, are going to set for your child. Whatever your level of faith commitment at this point, the baptism of your child offers a great opportunity to deepen your appreciation for and experience of the faith.
As Catholics, we do not worship or witness our faith in a vacuum, but in a community. And as a community, all of us by virtue of our own baptism are called to proclaim the faith and teach it to our little ones.
We are all about sharing within the community – from the smallest domestic church (your immediate family) and your child’s wider world, encompassing godparents, grandparents, relatives and friends, to the whole parish and, yes, to the universal Church as the body of Christ.
Baptism preparation at SS Joseph & Swithun’s
Usually, parents are invited to prepare for their child’s baptism by attending a four-week course. The course consists of:
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Retreat for Parents, 10:00 – 12:30 |
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Session 1, after 9:15 Mass |
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Session 2, after 9:15 Mass |
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Rite of Welcome, during the 9:15 Mass |
Each Sunday session usually lasts about 60 minutes and takes place in the Upper Room at St Joseph’s
To register: please download the application form (see link below), complete it and bring it with you when you visit one of the priests at their weekly surgery:
– Fr Saju, Mondays 4.30–6.30pm
– Fr Patrick (by appointment only), Wednesdays 4.30–6.30pm.
Please contact the parish office if work prevents you making these times.
Expectant parents are warmly welcomed to enrol for baptism preparation and ask the priest or deacon for a blessing for their unborn child and themselves.
To register, please contact Fr Saju or one of our Deacons.
2026 Baptism Preparation Courses
Please note the key dates for the 2025 Baptism Preparation Courses:
Baptism Retreat – 10th January
Session 1 – 18th January
Session 2 – 25th January
Rite of Welcome – 1st February
Baptism Retreat – 7th March
Session 1 – 15th March
Session 2 – 22nd March
Rite of Welcome – 29th March
Baptism Retreat – 6th June
Session 1 – 14th June
Session 2 – 21st June
Rite of Welcome – 5th July
Baptism Retreat – 4th July
Session 1 – 12th July
Session 2 – 19th July
Rite of Welcome – 26th July
Baptism Retreat – 5th September
Session 1 – 13th September
Session 2 – 20th September
Rite of Welcome – 27th September
Baptism Retreat – 31st October
Session 1 – 8th November
Session 2 – 15th November
Rite of Welcome – 22nd November
REGISTERING YOUR CHILD
Please complete the online registration form, print it out and bring the completed form to meet with Fr Saju or a member of the Pastoral Team during surgery hours.