What do I do if my son's godparents are Protestant?

[MonicaPA]

My son is now 13 years old and at six months of age he was baptized in our local Catholic parish. I was not fully aware of all the rules of the Catholic Church at that time, so I chose a Protestant couple to be his godparents.

My son and I are now devout Catholics, but I am very worried that I made a terrible choice for him back then. Shouldn’t his godparents be practicing Catholics?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

MonicaPA:

My son and I are now devout Catholics, but I am very worried that I made a terrible choice for him back then. Shouldn’t his godparents be practicing Catholics?

Yes, his godparents should have been practicing Catholics. The priest or deacon who presided at your son’s baptism should have assured that they were by informing you of the obligation to choose practicing Catholics as godparents for your son. That they were not practicing Catholics does not affect the validity of his baptism, however. It is not possible to choose new godparents because godparents must actually witness the baptism.

But you can, even now, ask a practicing Catholic to be a spiritual mentor to your son and to support you in raising him within the faith. Perhaps in time your son might ask that person to be his confirmation sponsor.