Baptism

Infant Baptism

Congratulations! We are excited to celebrate the baptism of your child into the Catholic Church and the new life in the Spirit they will receive.

​​For baptism of infants, preparation focuses on equipping the parents and godparents to raise the child in the faith. Parents are required to attend a preparation class prior to their child receiving the sacrament. Godparents will need to have the godparent/sponsor eligibility form completed and returned by their parish. Before selecting your child’s godparents, please review the requirements for godparents in the FAQ section.

Next Steps:

  1. Parents complete the Baptism Registration Form.
    • You will be contacted within 48 hours​
  2. Parents attend a Baptism preparation class
    • Offered on the second Thursday of the month
    • Bring a copy of your child’s birth certificate or hospital record of birth
  3. Godparents request eligibility form completed and sent from their parish to:
    • Holy Spirit Catholic Church
      3871 Betsy Kerrison
      Johns Island, SC 29455
    • Form must include the parish seal
  4. Once everything is completed, the date for Baptism will be scheduled.​​
Baptism Registration

FAQ

Choosing the correct godparents will play an important role in the faith journey of your child. The godparents should be a role model for your child on how to live his or her Catholic faith and must be willing to walk with the child on his or her journey.

The parents of the child may select the godparents based on the following requirements (that must be met by all godparents):

  1. Godparents must be at least 16 years old.
  2. Must be a practicing Catholic and be fully initiated into the Catholic church by having received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion. A practicing Catholic implies that they attend Sunday Mass and they participate regularly in receiving the Eucharist and Reconciliation sacraments. An unbaptized or non-Catholic may not be a godparent for Baptism.
  3. Must not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared.
  4. If married, the godparent’s marriage must be recognized by the Catholic Church. If they are married civilly or in another Christian tradition, they are not eligible to serve as a godparent until their marriage is recognized.
  5. The parents of the child are not permitted to act as a godparent for their child’s baptism. However, the child’s Grandparents are eligible (if they meet all the other requirements).

Additional notes about godparents:

  1. It is recommended that the parents select two godparents for your child. However, you may baptize with one godparent. If you decide on having two godparents, one must be female and the other male.
  2. A baptized Christian, non-Catholic, may serve as a Christian Witness when accompanied by a Catholic Godparent (one must be female and the other male).
  3. If a godparent is unable to be present at the baptism ceremony, the parents may opt to have a proxy to stand in place of the godparent. However, the original godparent’s name will still appear on the baptismal record and not the proxy.

A baptized Christian, non-Catholic, may serve as a Christian Witness when accompanied by a Catholic Godparent (one must be female and the other male). The Christian witness must submit a letter or certificate of their baptism from their Christian church of baptism.

If a godparent is unable to be present at the baptism ceremony, the parents may opt to have a proxy to stand in place of the godparent. However, the original godparent’s name will still appear on the baptismal record and not the proxy. If you have selected two godparents but one of the two cannot be at the ceremony, you may also baptize with just that one godparent and opt to not use a proxy for the other one.

Generally, yes. The normal place for a child’s baptism is their home parish. However you may request permission for the baptism to take place at the Holy Spirit. This would require approval from Holy Spirit and the permission from your home pastor/parish to have your child baptized here.

Baptism for adults happens through the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). OCIA prepares adults to be fully initiated into the Catholic Church through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion.

“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).