Who sponsors child catechumens?

6 thoughts on “Who sponsors child catechumens?”

  1. Team RCIA – I am confused. Canon law does not allow a parent to be a sponsor for Baptism of Infants (Canon 874 Par. 1; #5); why then is it acceptable for parents to be the sponsor of a child in the RCIA? Just curious.

  2. Hi Melissa. There is a distinction between “sponsor” and “godparent.” Parents might be allowed to serve as a sponsors for their children during the period of the catechumenate. However, at the Rite of Election, the godparents step in. Parents cannot be godparents for their own children.

    With adults, the sponsor and godparent are often the same person, but the roles are different.

  3. Greetings! We require a parent to accompany each child while we are having a session. I take the adults in a separate room and address the same thing the children’s catechist is taking so the adults feel more comfortable talking about it with their children. We address the issues of “why” they waited and assure them that now is the acceptable time!
    It works well for us.

  4. Awesome seminar yesterday. My team is reeling with all that we learned and we are excited at the prospect of a new and hopefully more meaningful approach.

    One question on this post:

    Many of the children (with their parents) choose Godparents who are geographically distant, and only able to be physically present at the Easter Vigil. If the parents are the sponsors, should they stand in as proxies for the various rites?

  5. Hi Kristie. I think the best option is to choose an active parishioner or an active parishioner family to be the sponsor(s) or proxie(s).

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