What to do if you have no godfathers?

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Yeah, mine doesn’t do that either. There is more to being a practicing Catholic faithful to the Magisterium and in good standing with the Church than just going to Mass on Sundays, although it’s a very good start.
 
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I mean I do like the idea of having a practicing family friend but I just think someone you don’t know well will probably just lose interest after a few years. I’d rather someone who isn’t perfect but who would be a meaningful part of our lives.
 
I’d hope that a relationship would develop.

I’m in the same situation though. If I had children I cannot think of anyone in my family that I would consider a good Catholic role model.

I know people who are good Catholics (I believe) but they are older and I’d also be shy to ask because I don’t feel I know them well.
 
Thank you all for the answers!

I really don’t know where this misunderstanding between religious guidance and general childcare comes from. I never got close to that topic as I don’t have kids and lived in a mainly non-denominational / protestant area. So, thank you very much for telling me 😉
 
alice24 said:
Yesterday I thought I really would have no single person as a godfather for my future children. Is there a church teaching on how to deal with this? :roll_eyes:
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Canon Law:

CHAPTER IV : SPONSORS

Can. 872 In so far as possible, a person being baptised is to be assigned a sponsor. In the case of an adult baptism, the sponsor’s role is to assist the person in christian initiation. In the case of an infant baptism, the role is together with the parents to present the child for baptism, and to help it to live a christian life befitting the baptised and faithfully to fulfil the duties inherent in baptism.

Can. 873 One sponsor, male or female, is sufficient; but there may be two, one of each sex.

Can. 874 §1 To be admitted to undertake the office of sponsor, a person must:

1° be appointed by the candidate for baptism, or by the parents or whoever stands in their place, or failing these, by the parish priest or the minister; to be appointed the person must be suitable for this role and have the intention of fulfilling it;

2° be not less than sixteen years of age, unless a different age has been stipulated by the diocesan Bishop, or unless the parish priest or the minister considers that there is a just reason for an exception to be made;

3° be a catholic who has been confirmed and has received the blessed Eucharist, and who lives a life of faith which befits the role to be undertaken;

4° not labour under a canonical penalty, whether imposed or declared;

5° not be either the father or the mother of the person to be baptised.

§2 A baptised person who belongs to a non-catholic ecclesial community may be admitted only in company with a catholic sponsor, and then simply as a witness to the baptism.
 
Being a “meaningful part of their lives” is not part of being a Godparent. Bold added:

Can. 872 Insofar as possible, a person to be baptized is to be given a sponsor who assists an adult in Christian initiation or together with the parents presents an infant for baptism. A sponsor also helps the baptized person to lead a Christian life in keeping with baptism and to fulfill faithfully the obligations inherent in it.

I would rather have a godparent who will pray for my child every day yet live on the other side of the world than one who shows up for dinner every Saturday but is not a practicing Catholic.
 
I had this issue and it caused me great anxiety since I didn’t have anyone either. When I realized that my mother could be the Godparent, she was an obvious choice.
Being a “meaningful part of their lives” is not part of being a Godparent.
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I agree with the above comment by @TheLittleLady

My mother lives in another country and has only met my daughter once. But she prays relentlessly for her and has offered mass for her on several occasions. I’m grateful that she is the godmother to my daughter.
 
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I just doubt that a person that has nothing to do with your child would keep praying for them.
 
ConfusedLucy said:
I just doubt that a person that has nothing to do with your child would keep praying for them.
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Perhaps. And yet, they can “help the baptized person to lead a Christian life” by the witness they give to their faith through their own practice of the faith! Even if the child’s only interaction with his godparents is seeing them at church every week, he learns that this is how to lead a Christian life!
 
Only if they attend the same mass though and the child recognises them. Baptism is important and I’m prepared to suck it up and manage peoples disappointment as best I can if this is my only option though.
 
And our world is so small now, with skype and social media. I want a godparent who, if my kid (at any age) asks them a question about faith/morals is going to answer in accordance with Holy Mother Church.
 
Don’t you pray for people every day? Friends and family who live away from you?
 
It’s different with a relative. She is your child’s grandmother. A non relative god parent with no other connection may stop praying.

Besides, I would also want a godparent to act as an example which imo would require being a part of their lives.
 
Yes but these are all people I have a connection with even if I don’t see them. I assume if I was to lose touch I would eventually pray less and less and probably start praying more for those who are in my life and whose prayer needs I am aware of.
 
I think a lot of this idea comes from movies and TV. Most families I know do not keep the same godparents for all the children. That does not mean they want the kids split up if something happened to them
 
MaryTeri said:
I think a lot of this idea comes from movies and TV. Most families I know do not keep the same godparents for all the children. That does not mean they want the kids split up if something happened to them
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Only speaking for me, but no, definately not in my case. I have to think if I wached ever a film with this topic…don´t remember. In my case I know mainly protestant people in a rural area, and there it is common to pick someone of the larger family. Not always the same for all children, but that close that they often spent much time at their house when they were younger.
 
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