Tradition holds that during the Baptism of a child, a couple is bestowed the titles of Godmother and Godfather. But when I was confirmed, The church required one sponsor. They didn't ask for the godparents.
Is this normal, or was it simply something my family's church did?
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call on the godparents?
When I was confirmed, I just had a sponsor, not godparents. I was already grown up, though. It probably has more to do with your age than which parish you're in, assuming you're at a modern style parish. It might be different in other countries, but I've never seen a baptism there.
I was baptized as a protestant when I was younger, and that branch of Christianity (a particularly loony branch, for what it's worth) doesn't practice any of that.
That's how confirmation in the Catholic church usually works.
The point of the Godparents when you are baptized is for them to answer the questions the priest asks that you as a baby can not......such as "Do you believe in God...." and "Do you renounce the devil" and all that.
When you are confirmed you are able to speak for yourself to answer these questions....its a confirmation of the answers to the questions you were given at birth. The sponsor is there to attest to the fact that you are going to Church and all that, and answer any questions, and guide you on your path.
Hey! I am catholic too. And with the catholic church at Baptism the parents choose a God father and and a God mother. Then we only choose 1 Spenser for confirmation. (its the same throughout the religion) So really you have 3 religious "guardians" to help ya out. Not sure why tho, I am sure it was made in a Vatican Council, just not sure which one.
not at all unusual.
your God parents are the people who from your birth take a vow/responsibility regarding your religious education - guardians so to speak.
when you are confirmed - it is your choice - and the sponsor is the person who specifically helps you through that process.
That's normal. You only need one sponsor for your confirmation.
The whole point of confirmation is that you, as a free-thinking, intelligent adult, are choosing on your own to confirm your faith. It seems more appropriate that, unlike when you were Baptized (and had no choice in who would be your godparents), you get to choose who will be your confirmation sponsor.
When I was Confirmed, my Godfather was my sponsor.
Taking into consideration that you only need 1 sponsor for Confirmation, I suppose that it can be either Godparent. That is why the Confirmation candidate chooses his/her sponsor.
As I understand it, godparents serve as a backup for parents, i.e. they are ready to care for you if your parents die and will make sure that you are raised up in the Faith.
However, in Confirmation you become an adult in the Church, so you make your own moral choices and path. The sponsor is more of a mentor than a parent, but also vouches for you (hence the hand on the shoulder - presenting you as fit to receive the Sacrament).
So the two godparents / one sponsor thing is both orthodox and commonsensical. Hope this helps!
Roman Catholic Sacraments & Tradition?
