For Sacramental Records:
Parish Office:
765-473-5543 or 
[email protected]

For Information about Baptism:
Director of Faith Formation
Paul Staso

Baptism for infants or children under the age of seven is celebrated after parents have attended two preparation sessions. Contact our Director of Faith Formation to initiate the process of having your child baptized.

Baptism for adults and children who are seven years or older is celebrated through by a different process called The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (or commonly known as RCIA). To learn more about RCIA, contact Paul Staso, Director of Faith Formation.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” ~ Matthew 28:19-20; cf. Mark 16:15-16.

The origin and foundation of Christian Baptism is Jesus.  Before starting His public ministry, Jesus submitted himself to the baptism given by John the Baptist.  The waters did not purify Him; He cleansed the waters.  Jesus did not need to be baptized becuase He was totally faithful to the will of His Father and free from sin.  However, He wanted to show His solidarity with human beings in order to reconcile them to the Father.  By commanding His disciples to baptize all nations, He established the means by which people would die to sin – Original and actual – and begin to live a new life with God.

In baptism, the Holy Spirit moves us to answer Christ’s call to holiness.  In Baptism, we are asked to walk by the light of Christ and to trust in His wisdom.  We are invited to submit our hearts to Christ with ever deeper love. (from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults)

Parents wanting to have their infants or young children baptized should be members of St. Charles Borromeo for at least four months and should be actively practicing their faith.  If you are not a member of St. Charles, you must provide a letter from your current parish giving permission from your pastor to have the child baptized here, and should also indicate that you are an actively practicing Catholic.

Baptismal sponsors must be 16 years of age or older. At least one sponsor must be a fully initiated Catholic (having received Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist). If the Catholic sponsor does not belong to St. Charles Borromeo, a letter is needed from their pastor stating that they are an active and practicing Catholic.

Taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2^nd Edition:

The meaning and grace is evident through the rite. Briefly walking through the rite, the sign of the cross marks the person who will belong to Christ and “signifies the grace of the redemption Christ won for us by his cross.” The proclamation of the Word of God is to enlighten the candidates and assembly with the revealed truth. The faith response of this truth is inseparable from the sacrament. The person is anointed with the oil of catechumens to prepare them to profess the faith of the Church. The invocation over the water asks the power of the Holy Spirit be sent upon the water so that persons baptized may be born of water and Spirit. The essential rite is then performed, the immersion into the water. This is followed by a post-baptismal anointing, which announces the second anointing of Confirmation, to be administered later, to “confirm” and complete the baptismal sacrament.

The white garment symbolizes that the person baptized has “put on Christ,” has risen with Christ. The candle, lit from the Easter candle, signifies that Christ has enlightened the neophyte. In him the baptized are “the light of the world.”