Dating back to the early days of the Church, the Christian community was keenly aware of how counter-cultural and challenging it was to follow the Christian way of life in the midst of a non-believing society.  Therefore, a sponsor who was an exemplary and committed Catholic was chosen to be a spiritual companion for the candidate for baptism and confirmation.

In time, the custom developed of naming two sponsors at baptism.  Since the mother and father cooperate with God in passing on the gift of natural life, it was natural that a Christian man and woman would be chosen to assist in the spiritual regeneration of the new child of God through baptism.  This man and this woman were popularly called "godfather" and "godmother." 

As our society drifts further away from its Christian roots, the role of sponsors becomes increasingly more important.  Together with the parents, the sponsors present the child at baptism and help this child to lead a Christian life in harmony with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations connected with it.

Sponsors are required:

• To be 16 years of age
• To be registered in a parish and actively practicing the Catholic faith
• To be a fully initiated Catholic through the Sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Holy Communion
• To be worshipping regularly within the parish community and receiving the sacraments on a regular basis
• To be validly married according to the laws of the Catholic Church (if married)
• To be living a way of life that does not publicly and objectively contradict Catholic morality: i.e. not to be living with another partner (if not married)

Being a sacramental sponsor is not a right or an honor in the Catholic Church.  It is a privilege which carries with it the most awesome spiritual responsibilities.  For it is not simply as a relative or friend that the sponsor assumes the responsibility for the Christian upbringing of the recipient.  The role of the sponsor is to testify to the faith and to show this by living a life in harmony with what they profess to believe.  In a very real sense, the sponsor also acts as the representative of the Catholic community of faith. 

One baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic Christian community may act as a Christian witness at a baptism, provided there is also one Catholic sponsor. 

At baptism, each child customarily has two sponsors (a godmother and a godfather).  However, only one sponsor is required to be Catholic.  The two sponsors are not permitted to be of the same sex.