Genealogy Chat

Different denominations - and individual priests/ministers - approach(ed) the matter differently. I did hear tell of a Roman Catholic couple who ended up getting married three times because of problems with the recording of their marriage in wartime (certificate getting sunk in the boat on the way home to UK was the first) and because the priest wouldn't baptise the children without this evidence of good faith. These days there are other issues - whether the family attend that church, whether the sponsors/godparents are (or can be believed to be) sincere in making the promises - and there are arguments on both sides as to how much either of those things should count. I don't think there is likely to be a refusal to baptise just because the parents are not married, except with the most entrenched traditionalist. That isn't to say they won't hope that marriage might still be a longer term outcome! Christine

A s far as I know you don't need to be married - The only requirement used to be that both parents had to be catholic as did any godparents. It was not necessary for both parents to attend a baptism as due to war and such many men/fathers could not attend. At the moment going on my own Daughters baptism all that is required is that one parent is catholic and at least one god parent.

I don't think you need to produce a marriage certificate to get a child baptised. If that IS true then you can put what you like on the baptism entry.

My father never married my mother as far as I know, yet I have a baptism certificate with both parents on. Do you need to be married to have both parents on the baptism certificate?