Picking a confirmation sponsor?

[smallcat]

My 14yo daughter is preparing for confirmation this year. We have tossed around some ideas about who might be a good sponsor for her, and she really wants to ask a lovely young lady (mid-20’s?) who has been her counselor at a Christian camp for a few years. I know this young lady just a little bit- she recently moved to our area and started attending our parish about a year ago- but haven’t talked to her at all outside of a courteous ‘hello’ after Mass. My daughter hasn’t spoken to her outside of her time at camp (a week each summer for 3 summers now). From everything I’ve heard, she is serious about her faith and a good role model.

In the past, my kids’ godparents and confirmation sponsors have been close friends of the family or family members with whom it’s natural to have a relationship, see frequently, keep up with, etc. Is it weird to ask someone whom we really hardly know? If we do, I will invite her over a couple of times to get to know her better and I’m sure she’ll come to the confirmation retreats, but should I be doing more to foster this relationship? Is there an expectation that we continue to invite her to do things with the family? I don’t mind if that happens organically- I would quite like it, actually, but I don’t want to be pushy and kind of artificially force a friendship on this girl.

 

[Xanthippe_Voorhees]

As someone who was forced to have a sponsor, why don’t you trust your daughter and go from there?

I’m going to call this woman Jenny to avoid confusion.

It sounds like she’s really got her head on straight about this, moreover she trusts this young lady. Why not let your daughter take the lead? Ask her if she’d like Jenny to come. She knows Jenny best. Jenny may not want to hang out with your family but may want to take your daughter out for ice cream or otherwise speak to her 1:1 to be assured of her faith development. Your daughter is going to know best.

 

[pianistclare]

Let it develop organically. Don’t force anything. If this woman is serious about her faith and your daughter looks up to her, GREAT.
Better that than a someone who really won’t want to discuss faith. They don’t have to talk daily. Just be available.
Sounds like a good choice!

 

[kptrs]

It sounds to me like you are overthinking things. Based on what you’ve posted about this young lady, I think she’d make an excellent sponsor. Just let the relationship develop on its own.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Is there some reason the Baptismal Sponsor cannot fill this role? If not, as long as the young lady meets the requirements, she sounds like a lovely young lady.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P34.HTM

CHAPTER IV.

SPONSORS

Can. 892 Insofar as possible, there is to be a sponsor for the person to be confirmed; the sponsor is to take care that the confirmed person behaves as a true witness of Christ and faithfully fulfills the obligations inherent in this sacrament.

Can. 893 §1. To perform the function of sponsor, a person must fulfill the conditions mentioned in ⇒ can. 874.

§2. It is desirable to choose as sponsor the one who undertook the same function in baptism.