A Catholic Infant Baptism Service

Wearing White

When a baby is baptised it wears white. Long ago, new Christians were given a white garment to wear as a sign of their new life. White stands for purity and innocence and the rejection of sin (doing wrong things).

The Baptismal Candle

In each Catholic Church is a great paschal candle, which stands for the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world", so the candle is a symbol of this. With light we see things clearly. Jesus was talking about showing the difference between right and wrong, good and evil.

In the baptism, a candle is given to one of the parents or God parents who lights it from the great paschal candle. The candle is a sign of how they hope the child will always try to live the way the Jesus would want.

Blessings

At the end, the Lord's prayer is said. The priest blesses the mother and father and all the people in the church.