Baptism Letter

[MarisaJean]

I’ve been asked to be the Godmother to my nephew! I recently have been told by their priest I need to write a letter to the parent and have it in a sealed envelope so they can read it on the day of the baptism. I am unfamiliar with this tradition. Can anyone help me better understand this? Thank you so much for your guidance in advance. Have a blessed day!

 

[maryjk]

Never heard of it. I know we don’t do it at our parish.

Nor at the parish where my son was baptized.

I would ask the priest what the letter is for, and why you need to write it. It isn’t part of the ceremony.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

The only thing I’ve heard similar to this involved the parents. They were asked to write a letter to their son or daughter to be read in future years explaining why they wanted to have the baby baptized, why their faith was important and what commitment they were making to raise the baby in a faith-filled home, what their hopes were in terms of baptism, etc. Basically it got the parents to think about what they were undertaking and to express these thoughts for their child to read when he was older.

But I agree with the previous advice – ask the pastor for more information.

 

[Joe_5859]

I’ve never heard of such a practice either. Perhaps it is not that he “needs” you to write a letter but rather “requests” that you do so.

As the previous posters said, you can certainly ask the pastor for more info. Since it is not a canonical obligation or anything, I would assume you could write whatever type of letter you want (if you write any at all).

 

[coachdennis]

I’ve been asked to be the Godmother to my nephew! I recently have been told by their priest I need to write a letter to the parent and have it in a sealed envelope so they can read it on the day of the baptism. I am unfamiliar with this tradition. Can anyone help me better understand this? Thank you so much for your guidance in advance. Have a blessed day!

Ask the person who told you to write the letter.

 

[UbiCaritas]

Our parish does this. As other posters have pointed out, it isn’t required, it’s just a tradition (small “t”!) in some places, and a relatively recent one at that.

The idea is that the parents and godparents write a letter to the child outlining their hopes and dreams for him, why the baptism is important, how much they love him, that kind of thing. It’s a nice keepsake for the kid when he gets older. Some parents save the letters and give them to the kid at Confirmation.

 

[EasterJoy]

Ask the person who told you to write the letter.

This. I would think it is a parish-specific practice. Our parish made a similar request of parents and sponsors of the confirmation candidates (the letters to be opened at a retreat). Ask the priest if he has example letters.