A godparent is someone who serves as a sponsor for a person being
baptized. A sponsor is a member of the church community who supports the person
being baptized in his or her faith life. This practice reflects the ecclesial
nature of faith: Baptism is a sacrament of faith, and while each member of the church
must confess the faith insofar as he or she is able, Catholics do not have
faith individualistically. Rather, we receive faith as a gift from God within
the community of faith, the church. There is also a true sense in which we
receive faith as a gift from the church — not only from the ministers of the
sacrament of baptism, by which the theological virtue of faith is infused, but
also from other believers — especially parents and godparents, who seek baptism
on our behalf and who raise, instruct and support us in the faith.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that godparents
should be “firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized — child or
adult — on the road of Christian life” (CCC 1255). Godparents must, therefore,
have a strong and living faith, and they should be supportive of or even
instrumental in the catechesis and ongoing formation of the newly baptized
person.
Canon law stipulates certain minimal qualifications of godparents
(see CIC 874). First, the godparents must be chosen by the parents or, in
certain cases, those appropriately acting in their place, and the godparents
must have the capacity and intention to serve as godparents. Second, godparents
must normally be at least 16 years old. Third, a godparent must be a Catholic
in good standing who has been confirmed and has received the holy Eucharist.
This person must be living a life of faith as befits the role of a godparent.
Fourth, the godparent cannot be the father or mother of the person being
baptized.
Sometimes parents wish to have a non-Catholic friend or relative
serve as a godparent. While this is not possible, a baptized person who is not
Catholic can serve as a “Christian witness” to the baptism along with at least
one Catholic godparent. It is not permissible to have only a witness and not a godparent.
Someone who is not Christian can neither serve as a witness nor as a godparent.
A child can have up to two godparents, but only one godparent is required.
Canon law states: “Only one male or one female sponsor or one of each sex is to
be employed” (CIC 873). Therefore, if a child has two godparents, they must be
of opposite sex, in keeping with the analogy to natural parenthood.
Given the responsibilities that faith and incorporation into the church
entail, the godparent should be someone who can help the newly baptized person
to understand and live out these responsibilities. Specifically, this can
include things such as helping the newly baptized to understand the message of
salvation contained in the Bible; to live the liturgical and sacramental life
of the church; to implement the practical demands of the beatitudes and the decalogue;
and to find, accept and fulfill his or her personal vocation. One of the most
powerful ways a godparent can do this is by personal example. Therefore,
prospective godparents should be authentic examples of Christian charity.
A godparent should also defend the faith of the person he or she
sponsors. Just as parents must protect their young children from harm, godparents
should be instrumental in safeguarding the faith of the newly baptized so that
it can be nurtured and grow to full stature. In this respect, godparents must
nurture their own faith through prayer and ongoing formation.
One of the most important things a godparent can do for the
person he or she sponsors is to pray regularly for that person. But just as
grace builds on nature, so too it is beneficial for the godparent to maintain
an ongoing relationship with the person being baptized in order to help guide
him or her in growing as a Christian, in the same way that the presence of
biological parents in a child’s life is crucial not just for begetting the
child, but also for raising the child. Maturing in faith by enhancing one’s
understanding of what the church believes and seeking to integrate one’s life
with it is a lifelong process.
Matava is associate professor of theology and dean of Christendom
Graduate School of Theology in Alexandria.