Being a Sponsor at the Sacrament of Confirmation

Confirmation Sponsor Agreement Please PRINT clearly and complete the following:

parents and sponsor, the minister and the date of conferral. The pastor must also advise the pastor of the place of baptism that the candidate has received the Sacrament of Confirmation so that a note can be made in the Baptismal Register (CIC 895).

Full Name of Candidate: Address: Postcode:

During the Rite of Confirmation uring the Rite of Confirmation, Sponsors and their candidates are invited to come forward.

Practice varies, but in many places the Sponsor stands to the left of the candidate and slightly behind, places their right hand on the candidate’s right shoulder and says to the Bishop:

Proposed Date of Confirmation:

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Sponsor’s Full Name: Your Address: Postcode: Your Telephone Number: PROXY (If Applicable) I wish to appoint the following to act as proxy on my behalf:

“Father, I present .......... (Confirmation name) ............ for the Sacrament of Confirmation”.

Full Name of Proxy:

After the Bishop has anointed the candidate with the Oil of Chrism, both the Confirmation Sponsor and the candidate return to their places.

Their Address: Postcode: Their Telephone Number: I have read and I understand this leaflet. I accept what the Catholic Church believes about the role of being a Confirmation Sponsor, the requirements and the responsibilities. I accept my responsibilities and I promise to do my best to fulfil them.

Date: After completion, carefully detach this page. Please ensure that this form reaches the Parish Office of the parish in which the candidate is to be confirmed at least two weeks before the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

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DETACH HERE

Your Signature:

In some dioceses, as the moment of Confirmation approaches, the Bishop invites the Confirmation Sponsors together to stand up in their places.

He asks them: “My dear sponsors, on behalf of the Christian community, you are about to present these candidates for Confirmation. Do you promise to guide, support and encourage these friends of yours as they continue their journey of faith?”

To this question, Sponsors answer aloud: We do.

What does a Confirmation Sponsor do? he role of the Confirmation Sponsor is to continue helping the candidate along the road of Christian life, to safeguard and develop the grace given at Baptism and now sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1320).

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Sponsors are meant to give a candidate a good example of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. This will be shown by their love for God, for the Word of God, for the Mass and the Sacraments, for the teachings of the Church, and by the love they show to others. It is the Sponsor’s task to develop further his/her own spiritual life, praying regularly for their godchild.

Being a Sponsor at the Sacrament of Confirmation

For more information • Why Be Confirmed? (Do 704) • Confirmation (Do 713) • Way of Life for Young Catholics (Do 774) • Handbook of Novenas to the Saints (D 733)

Visit: www.cts-online.org.uk www.ctscatholiccompass.org A wide range of inexpensive publications is available from CTS to help nurture your faith and keep you informed about a wide range of issues. If you would like to receive further information please contact us: CTS, 40-46 Harleyford Road, London SE11 5AY Or visit www.cts-online.org.uk Tel: 020 7640 0042 Fax: 020 7640 0046

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All rights reserved. © 2011 Incorporated Catholic Truth Society. Cover image © Adult confirmation in Rheims cathedral/Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis, © Praying young woman in light and incense smoke/Peter Zelie/istockphoto, © Adult confirmation in Rheims cathedral/ Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis.

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An important responsibility eing a Confirmation Sponsor is a great honour and a wonderful role to be invited to undertake. Through Confirmation, sponsors and their godchildren are united in a unique bond that lasts through life. Being a Confirmation Sponsor is also a role that involves major responsibilities. This leaflet summarises the role and responsibilities of a Confirmation Sponsor, especially as described in the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). Many parishes require Confirmation Sponsors to sign a Sponsors’ Agreement, such as the one given at the end of this leaflet.

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What is Confirmation? aptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist form a unity. These are the three sacraments of initiation into the life of Christ and his Church.

They lay the foundations of Christian life. In the Eastern churches, these three sacraments are usually given, and in this order, in a single ceremony, even to babies. In the West, these sacraments are mostly received one at a time: Baptism shortly after birth, First Holy Communion about the age of seven, and Confirmation in early teenage years.

The faithful are obliged to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation which is a sacrament of growth, completing the grace God has given in Baptism:

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“By the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptised are more perfectly bound to the Church, and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.

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Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1285; see also CIC 890).

Being strengthened o be confirmed means literally to be ratified, completed and strengthened. This is exactly what happens when the Bishop lays hands on the head of the candidate and anoints him/her with the perfumed Oil of Chrism. For the candidate, Confirmation is truly a personal ‘Day of Pentecost.’ Just as Our Lady, St. Peter and the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2: 1-4) on that day, so too the newly confirmed are being sent out into the world to spread the Gospel.

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Confirmation candidates o be confirmed, candidates must be above the age of reason and have not received this Sacrament before. They need to prepare carefully by catechesis and prayer to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and a readiness to act (CCC 1311). They will be asked to profess the Catholic Faith by renewing their baptismal promises. They will receive the cleansing Sacrament of Penance and affirm their readiness to assume the role of a disciple of Christ. For Him, they will henceforth be witnesses, both in their parish and the Church, as well as in their daily life in the world.

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What is a Confirmation Sponsor? t is an ancient tradition of the Church that at the Sacrament of Confirmation, a Sponsor is appointed (CIC 892). A Confirmation Sponsor is someone who sees that the person being confirmed acts as a true witness to Christ and is ready and willing to fulfil the continuing obligations connected with this Sacrament.

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Who can be a Confirmation Sponsor? onfirmation Sponsors must be chosen carefully. The Church encourages candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation to invite one of their baptismal godparents to act as their Confirmation Sponsor. This clearly expresses the link between Baptism and Confirmation. If this is not possible, another Confirmation Sponsor may be chosen. A Sponsor must be: • chosen by the candidate; • a confirmed and practising Catholic; • at least sixteen years old; and • in good standing with the Church, leading a life in harmony with the faith and role to be undertaken.

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A Confirmation Sponsor, duly chosen as above, may themselves appoint a proxy, if for some reason they are unable to attend the Sacrament of Confirmation. In this case, it helps if all the details and a signed mandate authorising the proxy are obtained.

After the Confirmation, the pastor of the church in which the Sacrament is conferred will record in the Confirmation Register the name and address of the candidate confirmed, his/her

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