What role do godparents play?
My boyfriend is catholic but I was never baptized and do not wish to be at this point. Does our baby need to be baptized in order to have godparents? Do the godparents need to be baptized? Do godparents take care of the child in the event that the parents die?
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So they say…I am a Godmother to a bunch of my nieces and nephews and I can honestly say that I haven’t had to do diddly.. XD
My understanding is that the godparent is responsible for the religious education/upbringing of the child if the parents die. If you choose to have the godparent(s) be responsible for your child in the event that you both die, you need to make them the guardians via your will.
@tedibear is correct. The godparents are to see to the child’s religious upbringing.
It has nothing to do with guardianship.
A godparent is by definition a sponsor of a child’s baptism, so yes, the child needs to be baptized in order to have godparents. A godparent must also be a confirmed Catholic who has received the Eucharist and is supposed to ensure the Catholic upbringing of the child. (My godparents, for example, are close family friends who are confirmed Catholics. My parents are the godparents of their children).
It sounds like there are different definitions based on whether you (or the family) is religious or not. In my case, I am listed as the guardian of my neice in case of emergency or if her parents pass away or can’t take care of her. They call me her “godmother”. However, none of us are religious and my neice has not been baptized.
@ItalianPrincess1217, maybe you can ask someone in your boyfriend’s church what the requirements are, if the church is important to you or your family. Otherwise, you can always go the secular route and appoint a potential guardian. (There’s a legal term for it, but I can’t remember it at the moment.)
My friends’ godparents always took them to baseball games and such. So fun adult who isn’t related?
In the real world absolutely none.
That’s not to belittle the role and the respect you obviously hold for the people you choose however. In the unique world that is Catholicism the Godparents are, as had already been said, supposed to be responsible for the child’s religious upbringing, but in the real world that just doesn’t happen anymore.
My son’s Godparents aren’t even currently on the same continent as us. Says it all really.
Sounds to me you don’t really want to baptize your child anyhoo.
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