There were several months last year through which we were unable to celebrate the sacraments but thankfully we have been able to baptise children into the life of the church in recent months. We welcome all of them, happy to be able to facilitate celebrations, one child at a time until recent weeks when, now, up to four babies may be baptised at each celebration, taking appropriate precautions.
The impact of Covid-19 may be seen in the numbers of children baptised in recent years. In both 2018 and again in 2019, we baptised 70 children. In 2020 a total of 22 children were baptised and in 2021 there were 43 children baptised.
We continue to celebrate Baptism in the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, after the 12 o’clock Mass on Sunday. Parents are asked to submit an application form along with a copy of their child’s birth certificate. A meeting is held before each baptism, in circumstances that depend on the prevailing pandemic restrictions.