BAPTISM 

St. Rita Church offers the Sacrament of Baptism to all registered families. Baptisms may be scheduled as follows:

Any Sunday after the 11:00 am Mass in the Church. No more than six baptisms at any given Sunday.

If it is the first child to be baptized in the family, parents are required to attend a baptismal preparation class and send a payment of $75.00 made out to St. Rita Church prior to the scheduled date of baptism. Also, one or both godparents are encouraged to attend the baptismal class. Class is offered every third Saturday of the month at 10am in the Church’s lower level meeting room.  Please call the Church Office at (815) 398-0853 to sign-up for the class.

Godparents play a very important role in the development of the child’s faith life, providing Christian moral support to the parents. At least one of the godparents must be Catholic and is required to submit a Certificate of Verification form of “good standing” with their parish and signed by their Pastor before a date is scheduled for the baptism.

THE ROLE OF GODPARENTS

Every person being baptized, whether a child or adult, must have a sponsor. Sponsors in Baptism have traditionally been called “godparents”.  The minimum requirement is one sponsor, but usually, when infants are baptized, there are two sponsors.

Canon Law permits one godparent of each gender – a godfather and a godmother. These sponsors have to meet the following requirements in order to witness the baptism:

• Must NOT be the parents of the one being baptized

• Must be 16 years of age or older

• Must be confirmed
• Must complete a Certificate of Verification to be submitted to church office  

If Someone cannot find two practicing Catholics to be godfather and godmother, then one sponsor can be Catholic and the other a baptized Christian Witness.

Being a godparent carries with it no legal right or ecclesiastical authority to the custody of children. Custody is a strictly legal matter that parents must decide with their attorney. Being a godparent really means actively giving a good Christian witness and example, and being a role model.