Godparent Guidelines:
A child may have up to two godparents, a male and a female.
All Godparents must meet ALL of the following requirements:
- They must be at least 16 years of age.
- They must have already received the three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation.
- They must be a practicing Catholic who attends Mass every week and is in good standing.
- If they are married, they must have been married in the Catholic Church or have had their marriage blessed in the Catholic Church.
- They must have a Godparent form signed by their parish to show they are active and eligible to serve in this capacity.
- They must attend the pre-baptismal class in person. This class is good for two years. If they are unable to attend the pre-baptismal class offered at St. Timothy Catholic Church, they must present a letter or certificate from their local Catholic church indicating that they attended a baptism class there.
Christian Witness. If finding two Godparents is not possible, a child can have one Godparent and a Christian witness. A Christian witness is a non-Catholic who has been baptized in another Christian faith and is actively practicing. A person who was baptized Catholic and then left the Church for another Christian denomination cannot serve as a Christian witness.
If one or both Godparents cannot attend the baptism, a proxy can stand in for them, but both Godparents must still meet all of the requirements above.