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OCIA Sponsors and Godparents
What is a Sponsor?
"A sponsor accompanies any candidate seeking admission as a catechumen. Sponsors are persons who have known and assisted the candidates and stand as witnesses to the candidates' moral character, faith, and intention." (OCIA 10)
More than just a title or the person who presents the candidate for Baptism or Confirmation, the sponsor is someone who is going to assist their candidate in living as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
What Makes a Good Sponsor?
1) Someone who is a witness of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
2) Someone who is prayerful and can pray with and for you regularly.
3) Someone you can have conversations about the faith with.
4) Someone who can support and encourage you in their spiritual life.
5) Someone who is continuing their your own formation by reading Scripture and the lives of the Saints.
What are the requirements for a Sponsor or Godparent?
1) Is a Roman Catholic because the godparent is an official representative of the Catholic Church.
2) Is 16 or older by the date of the baptism/confirmation.
3) Is a baptized Catholic who has received Confirmation and Holy Eucharist in the Catholic Church.
4) Is be a practicing Catholic who is free to receive Holy Communion when he or she comes to Mass.
5a) If married, must be in a marriage that is recognized by the Catholic Church.
5b) If unmarried, a godparent must be living a life consistent with a single person as defined by the Catholic Church. Anyone cohabitating with another person, e.g., living in a romantic relationship or as a couple, is ineligible to serve.
Sponsor Form Information
Sponsors should bring the completed but UNSIGNED form to a Catholic Church and ask a priest, deacon or pastoral minister of that parish to witness you signing the document. This witness must then sign the document and place the parish seal on it. Return the signed and sealed document to Our Lady of Lourdes.