Under the Age of Seven
If your child is under the age of 7, contact the office to arrange to meet with the Baptism deacon, take Baptismal prep and schedule a baptism time. Your child will need two sponsors (Godparents) who are confirmed Catholics andare willing to take up the role of spiritual guidance for the child. If the Godparents are married, they must have been married in the Church. There is no charge for baptisms.
Over the Age of Six
To receive Baptism and come into the Church after the age of six, you will go through a formation program. Youth and adults go through RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) and childrengo through RCIC (Rite of Christian Initiation for Children). RCIA and RCIC classes begin in September and go to the following Easter when the Baptisms are done. With RCIA and RCIC, in addition to baptism, you'll receive First Confession, First Communion and Confirmation. Classes are on Tuesday nights typically from 7:00 until 9:00 pm. There is also a retreat in the fall. Contact the office for more information (970-352-1060). For more information about the nature of coming into the Church, see Coming into the Church.
BAPTISM: The first of the seven sacraments, and the "door" which gives access to the other sacraments. Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist constitute the "sacraments of initiation" by which a believer receives the remission of original and personal sin, begins a new life in Christ and the Holy Spirit, and is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ. The rite of Baptism consists in immersing the candidate in water, or pouring water on the head, while pronouncing the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (See Catechism paragraphs 977, 1213 ff.; 1275, 1278 for more).
RECONCILIATION, SACRAMENT OF: The sacramental celebration in which, through God's mercy and forgiveness, the sinner is reconciled with God and also with the Church, Christ's Body, which is wounded by sin (1422, 1442-1445, 1468).
[From the Glossary to teh Catechism]