Catholic Question - Confirmation Sponsor Different from Baptismal Godparent

When I was confirmed, it was explained this way ... baptism is your parents and godparents taking ownership of your religious upbringing, thus during the Baptismal Covenant they say they will do things "with God's help" and parents pick the sponsors. Confirmation is when you are now responsible for ownership of your religious upbringing, so YOU pick the sponsor. My brother and I both picked close family friends. I would talk with your kids about who they would like to support them ... some questions they could think about are:

Who would they feel comfortable asking for a ride to Church in case you or your DH aren't going?
Who would they feel comfortable talking with religion and any doubts they have with?
Who do they admire for the things they do in the community and look up to?

Hope this helps. Best wishes.

My husband and his side of the family are all practicing catholics. I know, for all four of his other siblings, they chose people who would act as a sponsor, as well as a mentor and someone who can guide them in their faith, and give them good direction. My husband was his brothers godparent, however, he also is his sponsor. His sister chose her friends mother as a sponsor( who is not her godparent). I think it's best to chose someone who will be consistant, as well as constant in their life. I don't think it would be awful to find someone else who isn't their godparent.

I know for me and my DH, our sponsors were not our godparents, and I know many others who do the same. It just depends, but I don't think it's a hard and fast rule. I would speak to the CCD leader and ask for guidance. Let them know the situation and maybe they can speak with the kddos to help them decide. This is a more neutral person who can at least find out what the kids want. Good luck.

My son's sponsor was his grandparent . . . who was NOT one of his Godparents. It is somewhat of a tradition in my ex-husband's family and
it worked out fine.

I would talk to the CCD coordinator to get his/her thoughts on the matter.

My oldest son is nearing confirmation as well, and he will not be choosing his godparent as his confirmation sponsor for the same reasons you mentioned. Congratulation on your son entering this process! It's a very special time. :)

According to Church law, the Confirmation sponsor must be a practicing Catholic who been Confirmed for at least one year. Some churches encourage you to ask one of your Godparents (thus paralleling the two sacraments). Some churches may ask for some type of documentation that the chosen sponsor is a practicing Catholic (letter from their current parish). Some churches may have an additional requirement.

There really is no church teaching that would prohibit them from choosing someone who has been and would be a good Catholic mentor and role model to them. It's possible your parish will have a requirement of their own or a reason that they would not want to encourage this. If you receive any resistance from the DRE, just talk to them about it. I'm sure they will understand.

my dads sister and my moms brother are my god parents .. my dads cousin who i call my aunt was my confirmation sponsor.. there is no reason why u have to pick one of your god parents as a confirmation sponsor

I know plenty of people whose confirmation sponsor was not a Godparent (me included!). I say have your son and SD pick sponsors that they have a meaningful relationship with. My husband was very touched when his cousin asked him to be a sponsor.

I never have heard that the sponsor should be a godparent. It is much more important that the sponsor is someone who would help steer them in the right direction and guide them.

The sponsor should be someone who will support the child within the faith-this can be someone other than the Godparent.

I have never heard that the sponsor should be the Godparent. I didn't choose a Godparent as my confirmation sponsor and would never expect my children to either. My Godparents were definitely not insulted. What's great about choosing a new confirmation sponsor, is you can pick someone that is important to your child's life, as opposed to your life when they were born. I feel lucky that I had several adults in my life growing up that cared about me and were good role models and I was able to thank someone else by choosing them as a confirmation sponsor.

A sponsor doesn't have to be a godparent. My godmother couldn't be my sponsor, so I chose my grandmother. She was the perfect choice because she not only went to church weekly but also went twice during the week, went to the confessional twice a week, and seriously? Before she met my grandfather was supposed to become a nun.

My brothers chose people other than their godparents too, people who were exceptional choices. Their godfathers were also unavailable.

My sponsor was not a god parent. I didn't have a relationship with my godparents, so it seemed a no-brainer to ask someone who could feel like a real sponsor to me. Definitely pick someone who is best suited for the role and with whom your child feels good about!

NO they do not have to pick the Godparent. I'd make sure she knows that and let her reflect on the decision herself. If she is not close to her current godparent, it will be awkward anyway. And they really are not supposed to have a sponser who is not fully practicing, their confirmation teachers will probably tell them that.

As one Massachusetts Catholic mom to another, none of my 3 girls who have been confirmed chose a godparent as a sponsor -- and none of the godparents expected to be chosen. My oldest chose a different aunt, another daughter chose a close cousin and my youngest chose the sister that chose the cousin!

BTW -- by choosing someone in your family, it's almost as if your SD gets to choose her own godparent. In our family, the godparent/godchild relationship is totally acknowledged as being special, even "favorite". For my oldest, who isn't mine biologically, it was definitely a step toward feeling like she's a full part of my family (we all thought she was anyway, but it seemed very special to her).

When I was confirmed (about 10 years ago I guess now) they said it could be your Godparent but doesnt have to be. I chose a very close family friend to be my confirmation sponsor (though I am still close with my Godmother) and I was my younger cousins sponsor though I am not her Godmother. So I think it is totally fine to pick the right person at this time in his or her life.

We never chose godparents, and it was our choice when we were confirmed. The suggestion was to choose someone who has influenced your Catholic faith. Siblings often chose older siblings. I chose my parents (I think they were quite honored) My godparents were my parents' chosing, sponsor is the candidates, but yes, I would steer them towards maybe someone in your parish even, a teacher, and mentor, a CCD instructor??