To be selected in year 1 of the program
First year candidates are asked to submit their sponsor’s name in the first semester of the program.
The Church’s requirement for the Confirmation sponsor is as follows:
- An exemplary Catholic who is himself/herself already confirmed
- Has received the Eucharist
- Is at least 16 years old.
- Should not be their parent
- That only one person act as your sponsor
- Need not be of the same gender
It is recommended (but not necessary) that the candidate take as a sponsor one of the godparents who represented them at Baptism.
The role of sponsor is not an honorary status, but one carrying real obligations.
Canon 879: The sacrament of Confirmation impresses a character and by it the baptized, continuing on the path of Christian initiation, are enriched by the gift of the Holy Spirit and bound more perfectly to the Church; it strengthens them and obliges them more firmly to be witness to Christ by word and deed and to spread and defend the faith.
- The sponsor is to be the one who gives the right example – – a role model of the Catholic faith – – one who can and should be looked up to, someone involved in the spiritual formation of the candidate.
- The function of the sponsorship is adjunctive, to assist parents in the Christian upbringing of their children. Sponsors represent the larger faith community of the Catholic Church as it supports parents and candidates.
Canon 892: As far as possible a sponsor for the one to be confirmed should be present; it is for the sponsor to see that the confirmed person acts as a true witness to Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations connected with this sacrament.
- If the person you choose to be your sponsor cannot attend the liturgy itself, arrangements should be made to have someone else to be his/her proxy, i.e. to stand in the place of your sponsor.