As you begin to prepare for your child’s baptism, one of your first decisions will be the selection of sponsors (godparents). Prior to inviting a relative or close friend to assume the role of sponsor, it is important for you to understand what our church teaches.
Choosing sponsors can be a sensitive issue, but a greater understanding of the role of a sponsor may help you in this matter. Sponsors play a very important role in your child’s spiritual life and should serve as role models of the faith.
Your child should be able to look to their sponsors as an example of how the church teaches us to live our Catholic faith. They should support you in your work to teach your child our Catholic faith.
Additionally, in their role as sponsor, they represent the larger church community. As you see, being a sponsor is not only an honor, it is a tremendous responsibility.
Our parish provides the following guidelines to help parents choose the best possible sponsors for their children.
What are the requirements for godparents?
Canon 872 and 874 of the code of Canon Law lists these requirements for valid and lawful sponsorship in Baptism. Canon 873 states one sponsor, male or female, is sufficient; but there may be two, one of each sex.
The sponsor's role is to assist the person in Christian initiation. In the case of an infant baptism, the role is, together with the parents, to present the child for baptism and to help it to live a Christian life befitting the baptized.
A Godparent must take a baptism class either at St. Bartholomew or their parish and email the certificate to Director and submit a letter/or complete the Godparent Verification Form of eligibility from his/her pastor attesting that he/she meets the following requirements:
Each sponsor for baptism must meet all of the following:
1. Be at least sixteen (16) years of age.
2. Be a fully initiated Catholic (must have received all three sacraments of initiation, baptism, confirmation and Eucharist).
3. Be a practicing Catholic and a Catholic in good standing who leads a life of faith necessary to fulfill the responsibility of being a sponsor.
4. Be a registered member of a parish in the area where he or she lives.
5. Attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation.
6. Support the parish both financially and through service to the best of their ability.
7. If married, the sponsor must be in a valid marriage. Married according to the laws and regulations of the Catholic Church, which means that they were married by a Catholic priest or obtained an official permission for getting married outside of the Catholic Church.
a. Please note: Those Catholics who are invalidly married, as for example, before a justice of the peace, without proper dispensation before a minister of a Protestant church or before a rabbi, or those Catholics who are divorced and invalidly remarried do not qualify as a sponsor at baptism even though they may fulfill other requirements listed above.
8. If single, may not be cohabiting with someone without the benefit of marriage.
9. May not be the father or the mother of the person to be baptized.
We hope that parents choose godparents who will take an active role in the faith formation of their child.
About our Baptism Prep
We'd like our parents to have the opportunity to prepare for their child's Baptism by using our online program and one in person session.
Before you begin this preparation, please be sure to contact Kellie De Leo, Director of Faith Formation at 562-438-3826 to arrange the Baptism date (baptism's are held once a month on various Saturday's.) and answer any questions you may have.
Than complete the Baptismal Registar Form and submit to Kellie, kdeleo@la-archdiocese.org, and begin the baptismal preparation. We will also need a copy of your child's birth certificate which you can scan and email to Kellie.
We look forward to meeting you and your family.
St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
Baptism Program Outline: