"Baptism is the door that permits Christ the Lord to make His dwelling in us and allows us to immerse ourselves in His mystery."  ~Pope Francis

Congratulations on the birth of your child!  We are happy to celebrate his/her Baptism at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish.  "Baptism is a precious, beautiful, grace-filled moment.  [We should] approach this sacrament - and every sacrament with awe, humility and a sense of gratitude." ~ Deacon Greg Kandra

Baptism is a time to welcome your child to the Catholic Church.  We hope and pray that you and your child find a welcoming home in the St. Matthew's Parish family.  We have instituted a Baptism Preparation Program to ensure a greater outreach and opportunity for evangelization of our young parents. Our Deacons will meet with the couple to help ensure awarenss of the authentic meaning of the sacrament and their role as Catholic parents. The program is the beginning of the child’s journey towards full initiation into the Catholic Church. The overall focus of the program is to offer the opportunity to deepen one’s faith commitment, to better understand the gift and challenge of Christian parenting, and to come together to find support in knowing other members of our parish.  We do our best to pair the Deacon who will be baptizing the child/children with you, so that you know who is baptizing your child and that the day of the Baptism is not the first time you will be meeting with him.

The process is as follows:

When new parents call the parish office to schedule a Baptism they will provide the Baptismal information and set the date for the Baptism. Baptisms are celebrated on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month at 12:30 pm or 1:15 pm. We do not schedule Baptism on Holidays (Christmas, Easter, Mother's/Father's Day, etc.) or during the season of Lent.

• When you call to schedule your Baptism, the Parish Secretary will provide the availability of dates.  Baptisms are typically scheduled 2-3 months in advance and time slots fill quickly. The Secretary will do her best to accomodate all requests.  Please be mindful that Baptisms are scheduled individually by family on a first-come, first-scheduled basis.  To begin, families must complete the Family Information Sheet (link found below) and submit the form to the Parish office. Please be sure to select a first and second choice for the Baptismal date.  The form will be reviewed and processed and you will received a confirmation email to secure the date.
• All families are required to attend Baptismal Preparation with one of our Deacons. The only exception being if you previously have had a child baptized within the past two years and attended a class at St. Matthew's. Baptism preparation classes are held the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at St. Matthew's.
• Godparent certification form(s) must be completed and submitted to the St. Matthew's Parish office.  Godparents must complete the form and have it signed/sealed by their Parish Priest.  The original form with the Parish seal must be submitted to the Parish office no later than one week prior to the Baptism.

If you would like information about having your child baptized at St. Matthew's, please call MaryAnn Spagnuolo in the parish office and she will be happy to help you with the preparations (973) 584-1101, ext. 205.