“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into his death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
The Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Baptism gives a person entry into new life. It is necessary for salvation and for entry into the Church. The effects of Baptism are delivery from all sins (original and personal), reception of the grace of divine adoption, being made a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit, initiation into the Church, and being made a sharer in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king. (Excerpted from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults)
The Baptismal preparation program depends on the age of the candidate: