Catholic baptism question

SigmundsGirl

So I finally signed up for Baptism classes at the local Catholic church. Now I just need to figure out what I should put Evan in when we have the ceremony. I have never been to a baptism at this church, but they have a big in-ground baptism pool and I think I may have to stand in it and hold him while they pour water over him.

Anyone experience this? If so, what did you wear and what did you put your CD in?

Weezers

Our church has a large baptismal font too, but we just stood next to it. I've never seen anyone actually get IN the "pool" but maybe try to go to a baptism at the church beforehand so you'll know what to expect.

I wore a dress, DH wore slacks with a dress shirt and tie. In the classes they'll tell you what your DS needs to wear. It had to be a white garment but I think only the shirt part had to be white. I wanted to have my wedding dress made into a baptism gown but never quite got around to it. DD wore a gown I bought at a resale shop (brand new with tags attached) for $10.

readyforbaby

I have never seen a Catholic baptism where you get in the water.  Ours just had a font too that we stood next to.  DH and I wore church clothes and DS wore the baptism gown that my sisters and I wore when we were babies.  All of my nieces and nephews have also worn it when being baptized.

Now, there is kind of like a "pool" on the alter at my church but it is almost always kept covered...the baptisms are not performed in there.

BritanyV

Weezers:

Our church has a large baptismal font too, but we just stood next to it. I've never seen anyone actually get IN the "pool" but maybe try to go to a baptism at the church beforehand so you'll know what to expect.

I wore a dress, DH wore slacks with a dress shirt and tie. In the classes they'll tell you what your DS needs to wear. It had to be a white garment but I think only the shirt part had to be white. I wanted to have my wedding dress made into a baptism gown but never quite got around to it. DD wore a gown I bought at a resale shop (brand new with tags attached) for $10.

The Catholic church we had ds baptized at didn't tell us that.  They just said that we needed to have easy access to their chest for them to put oil on their chest.    My mom was insistent on purchasing an all white outfit for ds from the Catholic Book store on FM 1960.   Kind of glad she did though (don't tell her that! lol) because he would have looked out of place in what I had planned on getting him baptized in!  lol

LisaK2b

What church?  A lot of places that have the big in-gound baptism pool also have a little bowl on the side or a higher up fountain they use for the baptism of babies or for people to not have to bend over to get holy water when they come and leave church.  So they don't neccesarily use the "pond".  Well...I have seen it for adult baptism and that's what done in all adult baptism during the Easter vigil, but never for a baby.  The parents are the one being baptized and so you won't be getting holy water all over you.  And the baby will be dramatized if they clothes gets all wet. 

Anyhow...I believe at BRU they have a white cable sweater set and pants that would be perform for a baptism in the fall/winter time.  I have also seen cable knit sweater long sleeve onesies. 

LisaK2b

FYI:  you don't need to dress the baby in white.  The white garmet that they normally talk about for the baptism can be the bib or some kind of white cloth (most likely a bib) that the church sometimes provides.  You can ask to clarify. 

KelleyA

They'll tell you at your Baptism classes what to dress him in.  We had DD#1 in a nice onesie, then undressed her for her Baptism (she was dunked) and dressed her in her gown after that.  DD#2 was in her Baptismal gown the entire time (only water/oils on her head). 

Edit: every church is different and both DDs were Baptized at different churches...hence the change in program. 

SigmundsGirl

It is St. Lawrence here in Sugar Land. Growing up, my church only had a small baptismal font, but it seems that when churches get re-built, they are all adding the large baptismal "pool".

I had never seen it used for babies, but there is a slide show on the web site and there is a picture of a man in the font holding a baby. I just looked on the web site again and they changed the pictures out. Go figure.

Oh, and I hope I didn't offend anyone by calling it a pool. I really didn't mean to be disrespectful. I'm just not used to them. My home church put one in when they re-built and it was so strange to us. And a few years ago when one of my friends was baptised at the Easter vigil she was actually dunked so I didn't know what to expect. I guess I'll find out at the class.

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

LisaK2b

hahaha...I didn't even know it was called a font!  St Anne calls it a pool.

Anyhow..St Laurence doesn't dunk the baby.  If it's done during mass time, it's done on the altar with a bowl on the side.  My cousin is getting baptized there this Sunday so I'll let you know how it goes.  I believe they use the taller part.  I'm 99% sure that she won't get dunked. 

lilygirl

The infant baptisms we've attended at St Laurence were done from the raised font, not the pool.

We just attended our baptism classes at St Anne and were told that only adults being baptised at Easter are "dunked" in the pool.

LisaK2b

lilygirl:

The infant baptisms we've attended at St Laurence were done from the raised font, not the pool.

We just attended our baptism classes at St Anne and were told that only adults being baptised at Easter are "dunked" in the pool.

and at St Anne, they really don't even dunk the adult...It's pretty much a pool that they make the day before the vigil, and the adult steps into it (like a kiddie pool size) and the priest pours a pitcher over the head.  Their entire clothes gets wet but they go to the back immediate and put on their second set of clothes. 

SigmundsGirl

Thanks for all of the great information!

lilycat

Our second son was baptized where they have a larger pool, but they used the old-fashioned baptismal font and merely dribbled water on his head.

We think the big pools are not really used, if they ever were, but represent a passing (?) fashion in Catholic church architecture that can be found in redesigns of a certain era.

I'd call and verify.

Both our sons wore the same gown. I wore whichever suit fit six weeks post-partum. 

mnelson1201

They might also provide the garment. St. Michael's in the Galleria has volunteers do cross-stich on little white bibs that are given to each family.