Sponsor Certificates

Requirements:

Please have available the name and address of the church where the sacrament will take place. We will mail the sponsor certificate directly to the Church.

In the course of the year, many people who have been asked to serve as sponsor for the Sacraments of Baptism or Confirmation call or come to the rectory to request a sponsor certificate.  Most of the time there is no problem. However, there are times when we are not able to give a certificate to someone.

In order to obtain a sponsor certificate from our parish the person requesting a sponsor certificate must be registered at Assumption parish and have been registered for at least three (3) months prior to the request.  Even if he/she recieved all of his/her sacraments here at Assumption years ago but now live elsewhere, he/she is not a member of this parish.  Rather, he/she is a member of the parish in whose territory he/she resides.

Additionally, there are further requirements for Baptismal and Confirmation sponsor to be considered a Catholic in good standing with the Church:

• A sponsor must be fully initiated into the Catholic Church.  That is, they have received the three Sacraments of Initiation:  Baptism, Holy Eucharist, and Confirmation.
• Since the sponsor is seen as a faith role model, a person who has been asked to be a sponsor should be living according to the codes, canons, laws and teachings of the Church.  For example, if the person is married, it should be in a marriage that is recognized as valid by the Catholic Church.
• A sponsor should be a participant in the community life of the Church.  This means he or she must be registered in a parish, receive the Eucharist regularly, and lead a life in harmony with the faith and role to be undertaken.
• A sponsor for Baptism or Confirmation cannot be the mother or father of the one to be baptized or Confirmed.
• The Sponsor must be the required age of sixteen years.
• The minister of Baptism shall require a testimonial letter (sponsor certificate) from the pastor of the sponsor.

*Please note:  If you are a registered member of Assumption parish who has been asked to sponsor one of our parishioners, you must still obtain a sponsor certificate from this parish by contacting the rectory.

Please share this with relatives and friends.  This is Church Law, not the whim of the parish clergy.  It is so unfortunate when someone comes to us seeking a sponsor certificate and we are unable to give one because one (or more) of the above requirements are not being adhered to by the individual.

Register in a parish, practice your faith on a regular basis, follow the Church teaching, and there will be no problem obtaining a “certificate.”

God Bless you,

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Father Miroslaw Stachursk