Baptism

Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. (John 3:5)

The Sacrament Preparation Program for Infant Baptism

Infant Baptism at St. Hugo 

The Sacrament of Baptism is administered on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month during the 12 Noon Mass in the church.  

To register your child for baptism, download and complete the Baptismal Registration Form. You may either drop off or email the form to sofia.hull@sthugo.org For more information regarding the schedule and parent preparation programs, please call the parish office at 248-644-5460

This consists of an evening preparation session from 7-9 p.m in-person.  THIS IS A REQUIRED CLASS! The session will focus on the Rite of Baptism, the Role of the Godparents, and the Practical Details for the celebration. Parents and Godparents are asked to attend this session before the child receives the Sacrament of Baptism. 

Godparent

Parents are asked to designate Godparents for their child. The 1993 Code of Canon Law provides directives for the role of the Godparent. The responsibility of the Godparents is to help the child lead a Christian life in harmony with Baptism, and to fulfill faithfully the obligations connected with it. It is important that the Godparents lead a life in harmony with the faith and the role to be undertaken. Parents are asked to designate at least one male or one female Godparent or one of each sex. Godparents must have completed the sixteenth year. At least one of the Godparents must be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the Eucharist. A baptized person who belongs to a Non-Catholic ecclesial community may not be admitted except as a witness to Baptism and together with a Catholic Godparent. The father or the mother of the one to be baptized may not be the Godparent.

The sacrament of baptism ushers us into the divine life, cleanses us from sin, and initiates us as members of the Christian community. It is the foundation for the sacramental life.


At baptism, the presider prays over the water:

Father, look now with love upon your Church, and unseal for her the fountain of baptism. By the power of the Holy Spirit give to this water the grace of your Son, so that in the sacrament of baptism all those whom you have created in your likeness may be cleansed from sin and rise to a new birth of innocence by water and the Holy Spirit. (Christian Initiation of Adults, #222A)

Freed from Sin

Baptism frees us from the bondage of original and actual sin. Water is poured in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Today, the sacrament of baptism is often performed on infants, shortly after birth. Adult baptisms take place at the Easter Vigil through the restored Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. Adults or children who have been baptized in a valid Christian church are not baptized again in the Catholic church. As we say in the Nicene Creed, “I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins…”


The Catechism teaches:

"The fruit of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ" (CCC 1279).

Baptismal Symbols

  • Water – The waters of baptism recall Jesus’ own baptism by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. Water is a symbol of cleansing and renewal as we begin a new life in Christ. We are washed clean of sin.
  • Oil – At baptism we are anointed into the life of Christ as “priest, prophet and king.” A cross is traced on the candidate’s forehead as a reminder that we are inheritors of the Kingdom of God.
  • Light – The baptismal candle is lit from the Paschal or Easter candle that stands in the church as a sign of Christ’s light in the world. At baptism, we receive the light of Christ and are called forth to share this light with the world.
  • White garment – The white garment that is placed upon us at baptism is a symbol of Christ’s victory over death and his glorious resurrection. Likewise, the white garment or pall that is placed over the coffin at the time of death recalls our baptismal promises and reminds us that we are destined for eternal life.

While in ordinary circumstances, sacraments in the Catholic Church are administered validly by a member of the ordained clergy, in an emergency situation, the sacrament of baptism can be administered by anyone.


In case of necessity, any person can baptize provided that he have the intention of doing that which the Church does and provided that he pour water on the candidates head while saying: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 1284).

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