Resources for choosing godparents or confirmation sponsor

The role of a godparent and/or confirmation sponsor is to help the child/adult live out a faithful live and attain heaven. They can be seen as spiritual guides, alongside parents, other family members, friends, and the faith community, that assist the child/adult in their journey of faith. It can become a beautiful relationship of living out the faith as a witness to those being baptized/confirmed. 

There are a few guidelines the Church gives us to help discern who we should pick.

1. must be at least 16 years old
2. be a baptized Catholic who has been confirmed and received the sacrament of the Eucharist
3. someone who leads a life of faith** 
4. not be the father or mother of the one being baptized/confirmed
5. specifically for baptism, there must be one godparent but can be two (if there are two, they may not be the same gender)
   1. If the child has only one Catholic godparent, a person who is a baptized non-Catholic Christian may take the role as a Christian witness. This person must be of the opposite sex as the Catholic godparent

While most of these guidelines are very straightforward, point number three leaves a lot of room for interpretation. Often times, we want to pick someone close to us, a family member or friend, but then realize that maybe these people are not living out the Catholic faith in the way we desire to be modeled to our child. 

So, what does leading a life of faith mean? In short, someone who is an active Catholic that is in good standing with the Church. So, someone who: 

• frequents the sacraments
• regularly participates in Mass on Sundays and Holy Days 
• participates in their parish or a Catholic community
• has a prayer life and relationship with the Lord 
• seeks to obey and accept the moral laws and teachings of the Church 

Please see some of the resources below for more information or contact Kylie Beguhl with questions.