Requirements for Baptism - Catholic

KUGirl09 · July 2014

Ok, kind of random. I am trying to sort out baptism stuff, as the godfather (Catholic) is in the Marines and will have to fly in from San Diego. However, I'm pretty sure that he is waaayyy too busy serving to actually go to church. Any catholics on this group that have some insights into how strict these churches are on the whole every Sunday rule, or even active participation in a church? I'm a bad Catholic, and go like 5 times a year. However, my family are Mexican Catholics, and are extremely hard core about baptisms. This is something that they see as a non-negotiable issue, so I need to make sure I get this lined up. Honestly, I was afraid they wouldn't let me baptize him since my DH and I didn't get married in the church, but I guess its not an issue for parents.

shaylagirl · July 2014

I would contact the church you're planning on doing the Baptism at. They could probably answer any and all questions you might have.

Good luck, and I'm sure SOMEONE here can offer better advice than this.

kareik01 · July 2014

I'm Catholic and am Godmother to three of my nieces and nephews, all baptized Catholic.

I've never been a consistent church goer, and I've never been ridiculed for it as the Godparent. They just make you promise to do your best to raise the child Catholic and follow the faith. I follow my faith, I just don't think going to church is the only way to do that. I think, basically, if they're Catholic the priest will generally be happy with the Godparent.

I am nervous, however, when we go to baptize ours. I think they're a little more insistent that you actually go and take the child when you're the parent. Plus I've never become a parishioner at the church in our current town simply because we don't plan to stay here long, so I'm unsure how they'll react when I want to baptize here...

GreenMonkey1 · July 2014

Check with your church. At the church we attend and where DS was baptized the person has to get a card of "good standing" in the Catholic Church. At the minimum that would mean have all their necessary sacraments (baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation). Pretty sure the church does not require regular attendance. Other than envelope donations there would be no way to track attendance at our parish - and we donate once a month, which would not reflect our actual attendance.

The church at which the godfather was baptized should have a record of all the sacraments. From what I remember, they are the central document unit for a person since people can complete their sacraments at multiple parishes (which is why you are asked where you were baptized if you are married in a Catholic Church).

jendem8 · July 2014

I believe that you can have someone stand in for whomever can't attend the service; actually I know that this is true (in our diocese at least). Also in our diocese you have to get a letter from the church that the Godmother/father attends stating that they are in good standing with the Church. We're still in the process of figuring this out too, since my BIL is in good standing, but I'm not sure if we can use his wife or not (she was baptized Catholic but grew up practicing another form of Christianity; we have been told that one Godparent can be a "Christian witness" though, so we'll see).

FWIW, I'm a bad Catholic too. BUT this is also a non-negotiable with my husband and family (especially his side); plus it's been beaten into my head enough that children who aren't baptized float around in purgatory for eternity, so I feel some silly obligation to do it. And my mom is going to make her a pretty gown, so whatevs.

shevaCC · July 2014

Our church is very strict about it and required that at least one godparent have a form filled out by his/her parish priest that they were a regularly practicing Catholic in good standing. They didn't care about the rest of the god parents. We had to be parishioners and had to provide info on our baptisms and our wedding, I think.

But...I've also heard that requirements vary widely from parish to parish, so I'd ask around.

spulido82 · July 2014

Yes I agree to check with your church first to know what specific paperwork you need. Though I found this website that addresses some of your questions as far as what is required of the godparent:

https://www.drvc.org/the-chancery/sponsors-and-godparents.html

As to your question about the godfather not being able to attend, here's the answer from the website about proxies:
Can there be a proxy for the godparent?
Yes. Proxies for the godparents are acceptable when the sponsors cannot be physically present on the day of the baptism. The name of the designated sponsor is entered in the register. The name of the proxy is entered under the name of the sponsor with the remark “proxy.”

Hope that helps! - (was also a non practicing Catholic until about 7 years ago, returned and now love the faith and all of its sacraments). Many blessings to you and your babies!

GreenMonkey1 · July 2014

@jendem8 You should be able to have a "Christian Witness" - only one godparent is actually required. My sister is DS' godparent and DH's sister is the "Christian Witness" (non-practicing Protestant) although we call her a godparent too.

tamarar5 · July 2014

I agree with checking with the church where the baptism will happen, but for us, all we had to do was provide record of the parent's sacraments. My dh is technically a "lapsed" Catholic, though he routinely attends now. He was never confirmed and won't attend confession. But he goes to Mass with me and the children most Sundays.

I attended the baptism classes while expecting my first so we didn't need to repeat them. We also were not asked how devout our chosen God parents were. My husband is not my oldest's bio father and wasn't part of out lives when she was born. Therefore, her God parents are both my siblings. DS has my other sister as his God Mother (she is very devout) and my Bill as his God Father (and I don't think he's been inside a church since his grandfather died 15 years ago.)

This poor kid is getting kind of screwed in the God Parent department. I don't have any practicing Catholic relatives left to dole out!

Jennicillin · July 2014

Since the Godfather is a Marine a letter from his Chaplin should suffice in this instance as long as he has all his vital sacraments.

You may have to shop around for a parish if you and your husband don't go often. If your husbands parents are very very very catholic, then I would just try to do the baptism at their parish. Using a priest they have a good relationship with is your best bet.... Like others have said, a lot of the requirements vary from parish to parish.

Jenrileysmom · July 2014

I was baptized in a Catholic church (dad's side of family) and neither of my Godparents are even Catholic. They are Methodist, my aunt and uncle on my mom's side.

GinnyJ2012 · July 2014

As PP said check with the local church. DH is catholic and I'm not, and we were not married in the Catholic Church. We had DS baptized with H's sister as our Catholic godparent and my brother as the other (he's Baptist). We had to have a letter for my SIL for being a Catholic in good standing. We also had to attend a Baptism class.

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