To be asked to be a godparent is to be trusted with a child's faith. The Church does not treat it as a courtesy: in the rite you will promise, aloud and before the assembly, to help the parents raise the child as a Christian, and canon 872 describes your task as helping the baptized to lead a Christian life in keeping with Baptism. That promise is kept mostly in ordinary ways over many years. This guide covers your preparation, your part in the ceremony, and what a faithful godparent does afterward.

What you need

• A sponsor certificate or letter from your own parish, requested as soon as you accept
• A recent Confession and a Sunday Mass or two with the Baptism in mind
• The renunciation of sin and profession of faith (the Apostles' Creed in question form) read over beforehand
• A note of the Baptism date, so you can keep the anniversary every year

When to pray it

Begin the day you accept, and keep praying for your godchild for the rest of your life. Mark the baptismal anniversary, the child's birthday and the feast of his or her patron saint.

Steps

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   Step 1: Know what you will promise

   In the rite the celebrant asks the godparents, 'Are you ready to help the parents of this child in their duty as Christian parents?' and you answer, 'We are.' At the font you will be asked with the parents to renounce sin and to profess the faith of the Church in the words of the Apostles' Creed▾, answering 'I do' to each question, and then whether it is your will that the child be baptized in that faith: 'It is.' You will trace the Sign of the Cross on the child's forehead, and the light of Christ will be entrusted to you and the parents to keep burning brightly. Read the promises before the day so that you can make them with a full heart.

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   Step 2: Prepare yourself: Confession and Mass

   You are about to profess the faith on someone else's behalf, so make sure it is alive in you. Go to Confession in the week before the Baptism; if it has been a long time, tell the priest so and he will help you. Attend Sunday Mass with the Baptism in mind, asking God for the grace to be a real companion to this child. If the parish invites godparents to the parents' preparation session, go. And request the sponsor certificate from your own parish as soon as you accept; it can take a week or two to arrive.

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   Step 3: Your part in the rite

   Arrive early and stand where the parents or the celebrant place you, normally beside the parents. At the reception of the child you answer 'We are' when asked whether you are ready to help the parents, and after the parents you trace the cross on the child's forehead with your thumb. At the font you answer the renunciation and the profession of faith with 'I do' and 'It is.' Depending on local custom the godmother may hold the child for the Baptism or the godfather may light the candle from the Easter candle when the celebrant says, 'Receive the light of Christ.' Join in the Our Father▾ and receive the closing blessing. It is all simple; the celebrant will guide you.

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   Step 4: Pray for your godchild

   The first duty of a godparent is prayer, and it is the one that never lapses. Add the child by name to your daily prayers: a Hail Mary▾ each day, the Guardian Angel Prayer▾ for the child, a decade of the Rosary on the child's birthday, a Mass offered for the child once a year. When your godchild is old enough, tell him or her that you pray every day; children remember that. If the parents drift from the practice of the faith, your prayer becomes even more important, and it is never wasted.

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   Step 5: Mark the baptismal anniversary and the patron's feast

   Note the date of the Baptism and the feast day of the saint whose name the child bears, and keep them every year with a card, a phone call, a small religious gift or a visit. Remind the child of the day he or she became a Christian and light the baptismal candle together if you can. As the years go on, take an interest in the sacraments that follow: be present at First Holy Communion, and be ready to serve as the Confirmation sponsor, which canon 893 says is desirable for the baptismal godparent.

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   Step 6: Be there in the teenage years

   The promise you made comes due most in adolescence, when a young person needs a trusted adult who is not a parent and who takes the faith seriously without preaching. Keep the relationship warm enough that your godchild would call you. Invite him or her to Mass when you are together, answer questions honestly, share how you have kept the faith through your own doubts and failures, and pray more, not less. A godparent who quietly practices what he or she professed at the font is one of the strongest arguments for the faith a young person will ever meet.

Tips

• If you cannot honestly make the promises, say so with kindness now. The parents will be better served by a godparent who can.
• Ask the parents which side of the font to stand on and whether they would like you to hold the child; customs vary and no one minds being asked.
• A simple annual gift that builds faith (a children's Bible, a rosary, a saint's life, a Mass offered for the child) does more than an expensive one.
• Godparents who live far away can still send a card on the baptismal anniversary and a text on Sundays; the point is that the child knows someone is praying.

Related saints

• Saint Monica