Here at Saint James’s Church we are always pleased to receive requests for the baptism of infants (the baptism of older persons is a rather different matter, and one that is best discussed face-to-face with a priest).

The first question that must be asked is whether the infant concerned lives in the territorial parish of Saint James’s.  Many people think their parish is the one where they choose to worship, but in fact it is determined by their postal address.  If they choose to worship elsewhere, as many people in London do, this does not alter the fact that their parish, strictly speaking, is the one they live in.  The reason why this matters is that the permission of the actual parish priest should be obtained before a child can be baptised in a different parish.  Most parish priests are only too happy to grant such a permission, but their willingness should not be presumed and they should still be asked the question.

Once the permission of the parish priest has been obtained, or in the event that the child lives in the territorial parish of Saint James, there are three things that parents need to do, in order to arrange their child’s baptism:

1.  Attend a baptism preparation course.  This does not have to be one held in St James’s parish, but if a course is attended elsewhere, then a certificate of completion of the course, or at least a message from the parish concerned, is needed.  The baptism preparation courses here take place once a month, on a Saturday, from 9.30am to 10.30am.  In order to enrol for such a course, the parents should give permission for their contact details to be passed to the catechists who will then take the necessary steps.  The dates of baptism preparation courses can be obtained from the parish office (tel: 020 3475 9097).

2. Complete a Baptism Enquiry Form [available from the Parish Office] It should be noted that godparents, according to the law of the Catholic Church, need to be confirmed and practising Catholics aged 16 or over, and there must be at least one, preferably two, who meet this requirement.  Parents who wish to invite other persons to act as godparents need to realize that, strictly speaking, such persons are not godparents and their names cannot be entered into the baptismal register, although they may choose not to tell the “godparents” this.

3. Make an appointment to see the Rector, Monsignor Philip Whitmore, in order to discuss practical details, e.g. date, time, location.