On Sponsors & Godparents

Baptism  |  Confirmation  |  Sponsors & Godparents

Before you ask someone to be a Godparent or sponsor, or before accepting this honor, please consider the following:

Parents are asked to choose someone to serve as godparent or sponsor for their child.  Since the sponsor’s role is to assist parents in passing on the faith in which the child is being baptized, parents should choose someone who will take the role seriously and will be a good role model for the child.
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Godparents(Baptism) and Sponsors(Confirmation) are persons of faith who so exemplify what it means to be a member of the Church that they inspire (or hope to inspire) the one they are sponsoring and will support that person in his/her journey of faith. To be considered eligible, certain conditions must be met, which is why the Church insists that a certificate of eligibility, obtained from the prospective Godparent/ sponsor’s home parish, be provided prior to the celebration of the sacrament.
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 The Catholic Church asks that a Godparent/Sponsor, together with the child’s parents, present the child for baptism. The Godparent/Sponsor The sponsor must be a fully initiated Catholic (i.e., having received all 3 sacraments of initiation - Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation), actively practicing the faith, if married have their marriage recognized by the Catholic Church, and at least 16 years of age.

The role of the Godparent/Sponsor is to help the child lead a Christian life in keeping with the child’s baptismal dignity.

A baptized person of a non-Catholic Christian community may serve, together with a Catholic sponsor, as a Christian witness of the baptism. A Christian witness of the baptism, like the sponsor, should be a practicing Christian, at least 16 years old, and willing to help the child lead a Christian life.

If a sponsor is not a parishioner, then a sponsor form must be presented from their parish stating that she/he is a Catholic in good standing.  This should be in the parish office TWO WEEKS prior to the baptism.

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