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.

As our society drifts further away from its Christian roots, the role of sponsors becomes increasingly more important.  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 faithfully.

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. 

It is customary to have one sponsor for confirmation.