How to choose and RCIA sponsor

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mkipp

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I was wondering what qualifications or things that I should look for in a sponsor.
 
mkipp said:
I was wondering what qualifications or things that I should look for in a sponsor.
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They must be at least 16, Confirmed and Practicing Catholic in good standing with the Church (no divorces and re-marriages outside the Church). You should be confortable with them and be able to meet and talk with them on a weekly basis outside of RCIA.
 
I would recommend against choosing a friend over family, if you can (unless you’re a convert and no family members are Catholic, and unless you know for a fact that the two of you will never have a falling out).

My own experience with this is that my Sponsor was my best friend while I was in college (I got Confirmed late. :^P). Unbeknowst to me at the time, he was also seeing my then girlfriend/fiancee on the side. Even though I’ve forgiven the both of them it’s hard to forget, and it caused a large rift in our relationship (mostly to the point where I’ve only spoken to him once in over 8 years).

So yeah, make sure you choose wisely. ;^)
 
Do you have to choose or will the church find one for you?
 
I’ve only ever heard of the individual choosing. If the Church will connect you to one if you don’t have one, I don’t know.
 
Condottiero said:
I’ve only ever heard of the individual choosing. If the Church will connect you to one if you don’t have one, I don’t know.
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Usually your RCIA folks will help with this. We don’t expect that someone who isn’t yet Catholic will have a good pool of practicing Catholics to choose from. Occasionally a catechumen or candidate knows someone they want as a sponsor, but not usually (in my parish, anyway).
 
Like SuscipeMeDomine said, there is usually a pool of people who are willing to be sponsors for people who don’t have one. That is how I got mine and she has been wonderful! Since I didn’t know her before, I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations about keeping in touch afterward or anything, but we have kept in touch and still go out to eat occasionally and such.

My point, don’t stress if you don’t know anyone, RCIA teams have experience matching people and usually do a pretty good job. 👍 😃
 
Condottiero said:
I would recommend against choosing a friend over family, if you can (unless you’re a convert and no family members are Catholic, and unless you know for a fact that the two of you will never have a falling out).
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You could have a falling-out with a family member, too.

It’s best to choose someone that you know is very committed to the teachings of the Church, who will keep your best interests at heart, and who knows how to patch up a disagreement. If a person is very young (meaning, under 25), it might be a good idea to have an older sponsor, who isn’t going to be tempted to sneak around with your girlfriend, etc.
 
My sponsor was a childhood friend of mine that I hadn’t seen since graduating high school in 1992. We ran into him and his wife in childbirth classes in 2006. I didn’t even know he was Catholic. Anyways, we got to talking about church, etc. and that’s when we were introduced to the Catholic faith. My grandmother was Catholic, but she died when I was 5 years old, so I never knew anything about it growing up. He and his wife were sponsors for me and my wife. There are some who seek out the faith on their own, and when it’s time for RCIA, the RCIA director will find a sponsor for someone who doesn’t have one. I was asked to sponsor someone this past weekend, and I’m really excited about it. Our RCIA director is really sharp, and she is a good judge of character - i.e. she knows who would or wouldn’t make good sponsors. Then again, she did ask me!😛
 
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