Sponsor Information

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Each candidate must choose a sponsor.

Sponsors must be able meet all of the following criteria:

• An adult (16 or older), who is not the parent or legal guardian of the candidate.
• A practicing Catholic who has received the Sacraments of Eucharist, Reconciliation and Confirmation.
  • A godparent is an excellent choice, if he/she can meet the sponsor requirements, since Confirmation completes what was started in Baptism).
• Able to attend the Confirmation Mass with the Candidate.

Sponsor Responsibilities
The sponsor is recognized as a companion on the journey of faith, a mentor to the candidate, and a co-learner with him/her as they grow together in faith.

When looking for a sponsor, ask yourself the following questions: 

• Is he/she a person of prayer who attends Mass regularly?
• Is he/she someone in whom you can trust? Someone who is there for you, or someone who has the potential to become this type of person for you?
• Is he/she a good guide, a good listener who is ready to give advice when asked? 
• Is he/she a  person whose experience as a Catholic and person of faith can help you to make decisions about your own life as a Catholic? Will this person help you to grow in your relationship with Christ, now and after Confirmation?
• Is he/she able and willing to be involved in the preparation process for Confirmation over the next year and a half?
• Is he/she able to meet with you four times individually prior to Confirmation?

“And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak...”
~ Acts 2:4

A Note to Sponsors
In the early years of the Church, sponsors played a practical role in the initiation process. A person often wanted to join the Church because of a Christian’s personal example. Naturally, that Christian became the interested person’s sponsor. The sponsor walked with the new member, helping him/her understand the way of Christ and the Church. The sponsor served as a model of what it meant to be a person committed to traveling on the way of Christ. Today, the Church recognizes sponsors as people who are guides, models, friends, companions, and witnesses—responsible people the parish entrusts to accompany the candidates on their way to Confirmation. A candidate for initiation has chosen you to be his/her sponsor as he/she approaches the Sacrament of Confirmation. Are you ready for it? You probably are, as the role you have been asked to play is not as overwhelming as it sounds. In fact, sponsoring a young person on the way to Confirmation can be an exciting and rewarding adventure for both of you.

Qualities of a Sponsor
As a sponsor, you are not expected to be all knowing or all perfect. But here are a few qualities that your candidate should expect from you:

• Hospitality. A sponsor must be a welcoming and inclusive person—a host. The sponsor needs to be open to accepting and discovering the person and the gifts—sometimes hidden—of his or her candidate. Your personal welcome helps the candidate discover both the comfort and the challenge offered by the community of faith. You can help establish a sense of belonging in your candidate.
• Prayerfulness. By being a person of prayer—willing to pray and trying to pray—you will be a person responsive to the needs of your candidate and to the messages of the Holy Spirit.
• Respectfulness. As a sponsor, you need to remain open and considerate. You need to value and esteem the opinions, ideas, gifts, talents, hopes, fears, and feelings of your candidate. You also need to show that respect by treating the sharing you and your candidate do with confidentiality.
• Generosity. In the hustle and bustle of today, just to be a sponsor takes a certain generosity. You will be called upon to be generous with many precious commodities—time, talent, patience, prayer. Likewise, you cannot be penny-pinching with your feelings. Your candidate needs to see and experience what you feel strongly about.
• Faithfulness. Faithfulness does not mean perfection. As a sponsor, your faith does not have to be perfect, solid, or totally secure. Rather, it must be steadfast, seeking, open, and growing. The community is made up of people on the way—people who have not yet arrived. It is alright to let your candidate see that your faith—like his or hers—is still seeking. That makes it abundantly clear that your faith is alive.

Sponsors are asked to help guide their Candidate in the following ways:

• Attend the 10th Grade Candidate/Sponsor Session (Sunday, February 25, 2024 at Church of St. Mary from 10am-2pm)
• Attend the 11th Grade Candidate/Sponsor Session (Sunday, November 12, 2024 at Church of St. Mary from 10am-2pm)
• Meet individually with the candidate prior to Confirmation 
• Monitor and help the candidate keep their Confirmation Preparation commitments
• Attend the Confirmation Rehearsal (Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at Church of St. Mary from 7-8pm)
• Attend the Confirmation Mass (Sunday, February 4, 2024 at Church of St. Mary at 3:00pm)
  

Lastly, congratulations on being chosen as a sponsor for Confirmation! It is a great honor to  walk the journey of faith with your candidate!