catholic baptism-do I sign up now or wait till baby is here?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I just registered at our parish. We were attending mass prior to that, but never bothered to register until we started thinking about baptism. Our baby is due next month. Do we need to contact the parish now to do the baptism class and get scheduled, or do we wait until the baby is born? I have no idea. None of our friends are Catholic and my husband is not catholic, although he goes to church with me (as support, not converting). Our marriage is recognized by the Catholic church.

Based on recent posts, I'm thinking this could be a nightmare -we just registered, I don't tithe, my husband isn't Catholic, and the baby is due in 4 weeks . . . plus I have no one to act as a godparent except maybe my parents - my brother is not in good standing with the church and I have no other family in the US).

[Anonymous]

Call the rectory. Each parish has their own way of dealing with scheduling. Don't let the other thread scare you.

[Anonymous]

You can wait. DS wasn't baptized until 4 mos, and DD until 18 mos.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP of the other post. Are you in VA? I am and I think part of the problem is that the Diocese of Arlington is one of the most conservative (and strict) in the country. If you are in MD or DC, you are probably ok. That being said, I would do the baptism class now rather than when the baby comes, because you will have no time later! Just give them a call - you will probably have better luck than me

[Anonymous]

Call the parish bc they are all different on what they tend to require. As far as when it's just a personal decision. Some people do it right away others wait many months my nieces and nephews have been baptized at 3, 8 and 9 months. Just seemed to depend on schedules and what not. Although if the parish requires a class for the parents it might be nice to do it prior to the baby arriving just for your convenience.

[Anonymous]

Agree with 21:51. Unless you feel an urgency, then there is not rush to have the child baptized. But do some advance work now while you have more time. Call them up; talk to someone over the phone about the logistics; get an appointment to talk to a layperson or clergy about the process, why you would choose baptism, etc. You can also have someone as a godparent who is not actually present at the ceremony - you can have a stand-in.

Arlington Diocese is a pain, though.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Call the parish bc they are all different on what they tend to require. As far as when it's just a personal decision. Some people do it right away others wait many months my nieces and nephews have been baptized at 3, 8 and 9 months. Just seemed to depend on schedules and what not. Although if the parish requires a class for the parents it might be nice to do it prior to the baby arriving just for your convenience.

That was what I was going to say. Sometimes it's nice just to do the class ahead of the baby and get a date on the calendar. For me I had to arrange for out of town family so it was nice to have a choice of dates from the priest I wanted to perform the baptism.