"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.
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.