Welcome ceremonies for newborns, the secular version of baptisms, will begin to be held in Valencia from the month of May after the approval this Friday by the Local Government Board of the City Council.
The welcome ceremonies will be held in the Jardines de Monforte palace on the first Monday of each month, except holidays, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., except in the month of August and in the week of Fallas. In order to access the celebration before the municipal authority, at least one of the applicants must be registered in the city, and the girls and boys involved in the ceremony must not be older than two years on the date of presentation of the request, (although exceptions are contemplated for special cases, such as adoption, as indicated in the approved protocol).
Applications will be made in person at the office located in the Palacio de los Jardines de Monforte or through the municipal electronic office. The birth certificate of the girl or boy must be provided, as well as the family book or the judicial decision granting guardianship of the minor.
It will also be necessary to include the DNI, passport or NIE of the person or persons applying (the two persons who hold parental authority, except in the case of single-parent families, or guardians of the girl or boy) and, if there are godparents or godmothers of the act, something that is optional, their ID, passports or NIE will also be provided.
Finally, it is established that the City Council will verify ex officio the registration requirements of the minor, their fathers, mothers or guardians.
The competence for the celebration of the ceremonies belongs to the Mayor's Office, which may delegate to the Councilors of the Corporation, as established by the Law regulating the bases of the local government. The calendar of celebrations, which includes the business dates and hours of each year, will be approved by resolution of the Mayor's Office, and will be published on the municipal website.
This ceremony, according to the protocol approved by the Governing Board, constitutes "a formal act without legal effects, whose purpose is to welcome a new member of the family and the city." Therefore, the act of welcome "does not have legal effects nor does it imply any privilege or preference of the boy or girl in access to municipal services."
