Sponsor Role & Qualifications

Thank you for saying “yes” to your candidate, and remember the Holy Spirit is a present and constant companion as you journey together.  Being a sponsor is both a privilege and a responsibility. The most important quality of an effective sponsor is your own faith journey and witness to Christ. The love and commitment you display toward your Catholic faith is an example to your candidate. Values and faith speak for themselves in the lives we live.
 
Role of a Sponsor:
A sponsor has three primary roles: to assist the candidate in preparing for Confirmation, to present the Candidate for Confirmation, and along with the parents, to help the confirmed person to live out his or her Christian life faith fully. There are several ways you can help your candidate. 

• Share your own experience. Lead him or her closer to Christ by telling your candidate about your own spiritual journey.
• Spend time talking and listening. Help your candidate grow in understanding and acceptance of Christ and the teachings of his Church.
• Pray for your candidate regularly. Pray that he or she will not only come to know about the Faith but also will encounter Christ while preparing to receive the sacrament. As a sponsor, commit to lifting your candidate up in prayer every day.
• Encourage him or her to grow in virtue and to set aside any habits that would prevent his or her soul from being fully open and ready to receive all the gifts that God wants to give through the Sacrament of Confirmation

 
Qualifications of a Sponsor:
A sponsor:

• must not be a parent of the Confirmation candidate.
• must have received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.
• must be at least 16 years of age.
• must be leading a life in harmony with the faith and the role to be undertaken:

- if married, must have been married in the Catholic Church or
- if single, must be striving to live a chaste life and therefore cannot be living with a person outside of marriage.

• must be a practicing Catholic who attends Mass faithfully on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, fulfills his/her Easter duty, and trys to live up to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church.