Godparent (Sponsor)

A godparent, or sponsor, stands with the one being baptized, professes the faith on behalf of an infant, and takes on a real responsibility to help the newly baptized grow in Christian life. Church law asks that a godparent be at least sixteen, a Catholic who has been confirmed and receives the Eucharist, and living a life in keeping with the faith. There may be one godparent or one of each sex. A baptized non-Catholic Christian may stand alongside a Catholic godparent as a Christian witness, but not as a godparent. Confirmation has its own sponsor, ideally one of the baptismal godparents.