Are We Running Out of Godparents?

I am getting vibes that it is hard to find godparents and sponsors in local parishes. I am a little surprised that the issue of “Godparent shortage” hasn’t worked its way into the upper reaches of current public Catholic conversation in the United States. I can tell you that I have been “drafted” several times over the past two years to prepare adults for Confirmation and accompany them to the Cathedral. I don’t think it is my charm that brings these invitations; rather, the clergy in my parish are finding it difficult to find candidates who meet the canonical requirements. In Catania, Italy, Archbishop Salvatore Gristina issued a decree to end abuse of the godparent tradition. It seems that in the Catania vicinity there were too many situations of families using the sponsorship positions to cement relationships with criminal elements rather than fulfill the “true ecclesial function” of accompanying their godchildren on their journey of faith. [National Catholic Register, 2021]
 
I doubt that the Mafia is the root of the problem in the United States. Data--sheer numbers and statistics--tell us a great deal. In 1965 there were 1,237,000 infant baptisms in the United States; in 2022 there were 437,942 such baptisms, roughly a two-thirds decline which is even more remarkable when one considers that in in 1965 there were 44.3 million Catholics on the books compared to 66.5 million in 2022.  [CARA Database; save database link for your work.] My read on this is that many Catholics are not having their children baptized—for a multitude of reasons we will examine below. Baptism, of course, is the gateway to Christian-Catholic life and the first pillar of what the Church would consider as “being a good Catholic,” a basic requirement for sponsorship for church sacraments.
 
In conversations, clerics raise another factor—many who present themselves as candidates for the responsibility of godparents and sponsors are not validly married in the church and, beyond that, require annulments to reconcile their good standing in the Church. A valid Catholic marriage is an ipso facto requirement for a married sponsor unless he or she is single. In 2020 19,500 full annulment proceedings were begun in the entire country of 17,000 parishes. I am not going too far out on a limb here to suggest that a majority of those who identify themselves as Catholic may be living in invalid unions, sacramentally speaking.
 
Sacramental law and practice are one of those massive superhighway interchanges where liturgical, sacramental, ecclesiastical, and canon law theology interconnect with each other. The identity and character of a godparent or sponsor is defined by each of these disciplines of study and with multiple terms and emphases. Suffice here to say that the Church’s mission, given by Christ in his last encounter with his followers, is “preach the Gospel to the whole world” and bring all to the table of forgiveness and unity that is the Eucharistic community. Preserve the unity of the Church in its longstanding guidance but err on the side of mercy.
 
For today, I thought it might be profitable to review the Catholic Canon Law regarding Baptism. I have two hopes here: [1] the expansion of understanding of Church law and practice for the Catholic general population, and [2] the avoidance of embarrassment to potential sponsors of being declined the office of sponsorship. The following pertinent canons were taken directly from the Vatican’s website:

[872] Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

Canon 872 indicates that infants, children, or adult candidates—all candidates regardless of age should be given a sponsor. The law assumes that there will be times when a solitary person of any age may be presented or presents himself/herself for baptism, and in this case the Church should provide a sponsor presumably from the local community if the candidate has not connected with a personal prospective sponsor. The sponsor is expected to work with the candidate in preparing for intense Catholic living. Interestingly, 872 envisions the sponsor working with the parents of the infant or child in reviving the intensity of the Catholic faith family which is the Catholic home. Frequently the parents of the baptismal candidates are still living off what they were taught in the sixth grade [or worse], so it does not take much imagination to see evangelization needs and opportunities surrounding the parish’s celebrations of infant baptisms.

Some parishes provide a program of preparation just for the sponsors and parents prior to the baptism. I wish that churches did not refer to these faith sharings as “classes.” The common wisdom of the Church intends a personal union of faith between the godparents and the family [or families] that extends after the baptism. As one Christian website puts it, ““Godparents or sponsors should be willing and able to take on a supportive role in the life of the baptized individual. This may include attending church services together, offering guidance on matters of faith, and being a source of encouragement and wisdom as the baptized person navigates their spiritual journey.” Were I pastoring today, I might consider a baptismal alumni circle of parents and sponsors.
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An adult candidate for baptism will, under ordinary circumstances, enter the year-long catechumenate of the parish which culminates at Baptism during the Easter Vigil. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has provided a descriptive summary of the process. I have cited the sponsorship instructions here: “Prior to the Rite of Election, the Catechumen may choose one or two godparents, who will accompany the Catechumen on the day of Election, at the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation, and during the Period of Mystagogia. They are called to show the Catechumens good example of the Christian life, sustain them in moments of hesitancy and anxiety, bear witness, and guide their progress in the baptismal life.” In parishes where the preparatory rites [e.g., the scrutinies] are performed at a Sunday Mass, you might notice that the sponsor walks with the candidate through the ceremony. Here again we see the rich opportunities for sponsors to themselves be born again as they were at the time of their own baptisms.

[873] There is to be only one male sponsor or one female sponsor or one of each.

The law here assumes that there will be one or two sponsors. Two parties are not required but seem to be customary. The sacramental registry of every parish—the official Church database—has two lines for sponsors, but commentaries indicate that one line can be left blank. Where there are two sponsors, they must be of different sexes. I doubt that this binary gender directive has any subconscious political intent given the current transgender debate that followed years later, but assumes, as most of us would have in 1983, that godparents, in their role as spiritual parents, would be fatherly and motherly in the traditional sense.

[874§1] To be permitted to take on the function of sponsor a person must:
1/ be designated by the one to be baptized, by the parents or the person who takes their place, or in their absence by the pastor or minister and have the aptitude and intention of fulfilling this function; [See above.]
2/ have completed the sixteenth year of age, unless the diocesan bishop has established another age, or the pastor or minister has granted an exception for a just cause;

A sidebar: Given that research has found the median age of disengagement from the Catholic Church to be 13, and often as young as 10, engaging young members into the work of the Church deserves all our energy.

3/ be a Catholic who has been confirmed and has already received the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist and who leads a life of faith in keeping with the function to be taken on;

Subset rule three is one of the most subjective of the guidelines. The law assumes that a godparent is living as we would expect a “good Catholic” to live. An outlandish example of an abuse here would be the selection of Michael Corleone for the role of sponsor by his sister Connie in the first Godfather movie. As Michael professes the baptismal vows at the family christening, his henchmen are eliminating the heads of the four other crime families…and Moe Greene in the massage parlor, lest we forget. “I’m Moe Greene!”

But in real life, including parochial life, things are rarely so black and white. I accepted every proposed godparent submitted to me. As a pastor I found myself working with two populations of baptismal candidate infants and children: those from visible and active members of the parish whose general Catholic reputations were without blemish, on the one hand, and families who were virtual strangers to me on the other. As to the second cluster, my experience was that if you are kind to an unattached family at special events—baptisms, weddings, funerals, etc.—they do think to call you for the next “event,” and over the years they feel like this is “their” parish, even if Sundays are not their thing. Who knows? The next pastor might inherit a more vigorous involvement on their part. One scatters, another harvests. Isn’t this true of life? Today I would be more aggressive in my invitation to become involved in the parish faith family, but still with the openness to honor the judgment of the parents.

Several parishes are adopting specific ministries of hospitality and outreach to families experiencing the baptismal moment or other “events” including deaths. And I am impressed with the number of “small communities” I encounter, families who meet in each other’s’ homes for prayer, discussion, and social interaction. Some groups around here have lasted 15 to 20 years and generously invite new people to join them. As a very young pastor, I had a men and women’s parish softball team, and I could always invite adults to play who might have nothing else to do with their Catholicism. [After the first season of our city’s church league, the executive board adopted an alcohol ban for all interfaith games. Rumor had it that the ban was directed at my parish…a very real possibility.]

Unfortunately, there were and are some obstacles where a pastor is powerless to extend all the hospitality he might wish to, which brings us to    

874-4/ not be bound by any canonical penalty legitimately imposed or declared;

If you have been following the confession posts on the “morality stream” of the Café, you no doubt remember the discussions of “reserved sins.” 874-4 wanders into this area of latae sententiae [“instant excommunication” or “things we can’t take care of in the parish confessional.”] Pope Francis has greatly expanded the confessional faculty of forgiving abortion to the local parochial priest—abortion is on the list of reserved sins normally reserved to the local bishop because the act of procuring an abortion incurs an automatic excommunication, period, that must be lifted by a higher authority.

A far more difficult circumstance is when the chosen godparent by the family was married in the Church, civilly divorced, and did not obtain an annulment before entering a second marriage before a minister or civil authority. This circumstance is common. The penalty of excommunication is not attached; the term “irregular state’ is applied in that the sponsor candidate cannot receive communion in mortal sin; by Church theology a person in an invalid second marriage is having sinful sex outside of a “valid” marriage and thus, objectively speaking, in a state of mortal sin.

My guess is that over the past half-century a number of folks in “irregular states” have served as sponsors for a wide range of reasons, very few of them devious. The main obstacle is the need to proceed through the annulment process. [There is an excellent Canon Law summary from the Newark NJ archdiocese of the annulment process here.] In the seminary, I took an elective course, “Divorce, Remarriage, Annulments, and the Internal Forum [the confessional].” For my first ten years or so as a pastor I worked on some annulment cases in my own parishes, but it was very time consuming. I understand why many Catholics shy away from the process. Moreover, annulments can be psychologically difficult.

On the matter of requiring annulments for full eucharistic participation, let alone sponsoring roles, I can only confess to confusion, pastorally speaking. Forbes Advisor asked in January 2024: “So, what about the famous statistic that half of all marriages end in divorce? That’s true, but only when it comes to first marriages, half of which are dissolved [civilly]. Second and third marriages actually fail at a far higher rate.” All of us are aware that divorce is a sad reality of American culture. What becomes of practicing Catholics whose marriages fail? For an excellent focus on Pope Francis’ philosophy and recent statistical studies of divorced Catholics, see this April 2021 treatment in America. I tend to agree with Francis, but I can understand the spiritual anguish of Church leaders who disagree with the pope, on the grounds that traditional Catholic teaching on the sanctity of the marriage bond is the last bastion of the institution of marriage.

874-5/ not be the father or mother of the one to be baptized.

Interestingly, the Roman rite of the baptism of infants refers to the parents as “the first teachers of the faith…and the best teachers…”

874-5-§2/ A baptized person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial community is not to participate except together with a Catholic sponsor and then only as a witness of the baptism.

The language of the law implies that the non-Catholic individual is an active Christian in an organized church. The idea of a Buddhist serving as a witness is incomprehensible. But Baptism is a universal Christian sacrament, so no scandal is given by a Christian witness; his or her presence has a healthy ecumenical tone to it. The name is entered as “Christian witness” in the official registry. The Catholic Church recognizes the baptisms of all Christian Churches which use the Trinitarian formula. [Father, Son, Holy Spirit]. A Christian of another tradition enters the Catholic Church through a solemn profession of belief, Confirmation, and First Eucharist.

Can. 875 A person who administers baptism is to take care that, unless a sponsor is present, there is at least a witness who can attest to the conferral of the baptism.

Contrast this directive to that of sacramental marriage, which absolutely requires two witnesses besides the priest. In the U.S., and in much of the world, witnesses are mandated by civil law for validity and their signatures submitted to the state.

Can. 876 To prove the conferral of baptism, if prejudicial to no one, the declaration of one witness beyond all exception is sufficient or the oath of the one baptized if the person received baptism as an adult.

In these cases, there is no civil authority invoked. But see the next canon, 877.

Can. 877 §1. The pastor of the place where the baptism is celebrated must carefully and without any delay record in the baptismal register the names of the baptized, with mention made of the minister, parents, sponsors, witnesses, if any, the place, and date of the conferral of the baptism, and the date and place of birth.
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Don’t lose your copy of your Baptismal certificate. It will tell you where all your sacramental records are stored. This is your Church passport. Demand one if it is not given to you automatically after the rite. It is your or your child’s historical record. You will need your child’s certificate for all subsequent sacraments and perhaps even for the “Catholic rate” at a parochial school. [My baptism certificate includes Confirmation, solemn vows, diaconate, orders, exclaustration from a religious order, laicization, and marriage, for example.] There is a very reasonable chance that your church of baptism will be closed or consolidated down the road if it hasn’t already. My certificate is now in storage at the chancery of the Diocese of Buffalo, having had two churches shot out from under it. Expect a slow delivery.

After every major sacrament of your life, record of the event is mailed to the church of baptism. You are asking for a copy of the original issued within the past six months. Somewhere a secretary will go into the archives and copy all your sacramental entries up to the date of the event from the original parish entries.   

877§2. If it concerns a child born to an unmarried mother, the name of the mother must be inserted, if her maternity is established publicly or if she seeks it willingly in writing or before two witnesses. Moreover, the name of the father must be inscribed if a public document or his own declaration before the pastor and two witnesses proves his paternity; in other cases, the name of the baptized is inscribed with no mention of the name of the father or the parents.

For my first ten years as a pastor, we had neither the 1983 Code of Canon Law nor DNA testing on a wide scale. There were, over my years, a few cases where the father was genuinely unknown due to multiple partners. I would inscribe pater ignotus or “father unknown” in the father’s box. Can the sacramental records of a parish be subpoenaed later in a custody suit? Since the promulgation of the 1983 code, and the subsequent child abuse crisis, the state seems to have more access to parish and chancery records where due cause exists. Today I would assume that anything said or written outside the confessional can be examined by civil authorities, all things being equal. Consult a family civil lawyer in these unusual instances, as in the cases of adults seeking their natural parents after adoption.

§3. If it concerns an adopted child, the names of those adopting are to be inscribed and, at least if it is done in the civil records of the region, also the names of the natural parents according to the norm of §§1 and 2, with due regard for the prescripts of the conference of bishops.

Given the complexities of adoption, I would discuss matters of confidentiality and privacy with my attorney and my pastor.

Can. 878 If the baptism was not administered by the pastor or in his presence, the minister of baptism, whoever it is, must inform the pastor of the parish in which it was administered of the conferral of the baptism, so that he records the baptism according to the norm of can. 877, §1.

This refers to situations where an infant is baptized in a hospital or a parish other than his or her “home” parish. The official record must be entered and stored in the “home” parish. If the parents are in the military, all baptismal records are reserved in a special diocese which serves the U.S. service community, the “Archdiocese of the Military Ordinariate” in Washington, D.C. You can be baptized on any military base in the world, but the records will go to the AMO. You can request baptismal records here.

Summary of guidelines for godparents and sponsors here, courtesy EWTN.

In a few weeks we will look at the pastoral opportunities surrounding the sacraments of initiation.