WobLog

With a new baby on the way, one of our tasks has been preparing for the baby's baptism. One such task was choosing godparents (Hi Aherns!). Fr. Jim Tucker, a priest in Northern Virginia, wrote about the role of Catholic godparents:

Canon law actually describes the godparent in some detail:

Can. 872 Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Can. 873 There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

Can. 874 §1. To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:

1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function;

2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;

3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;

5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

§2. A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism.

Fr. Tucker then goes on to explain the personal role of the godparents as Christian witnesses living their Catholic faith. Choosing godparents, and being a godparent, are serious responsibilities. When Sarah was baptized, there was a little friction on my side of the family that we didn't pick family members as godparents. However, there weren't a lot of qualified candidates. By the time Alex came along, I think everyone had learned that we took the choice seriously, and there wasn't much fuss. Same thing this time. Yet another example of a little pain in the short term preventing a lot of grief in the long run.