Questions About Godparents

We just had a similar problem ourselves. Where are all the practicing Catholics these days, right? We asked my sister to be the godmother for both of our kids. My husband's family is not Catholic, either. So, my sister is the godparent for both, and my brother-in-laws are Christian witnesses, one for each of the kids.
I also believed that our kids needed good role models of faith that were going to be involved in their lives, so we decided right away that it would have to be family (as close as some friends are, you never know what will happen with them down the road). And, of course, one has to be a practicing Catholic. I have two sisters, but only one is still Catholic. So, even though I didn't want to burden the one sister and offend the other, we still went ahead and chose the same sister twice.
I don't have any suggestions for asking creatively. We just called them up and said, "Would you like to be (insert child's name here)'s godfather/godmother?" after the baby was born. When I asked my sister the second time, I said, "How would you like to be a godmother again?" She was super excited both times. We agreed that it's not about gifts, but about spending time with the kids and giving them an example to live by.
Good luck with the birth and the godparent choosing!

So far I've asked before the baby is born. I don't think it really matters, but I guess it would depend on how soon the baptism would be. Go with your gut on your choice. My sister will have 2 godchildren when our 3rd comes in July. She can't really afford too much in the area of gifts, but I have faith in her as far as guidance goes.

I was always asked after the child was born about a month or so before the baptism. Same goes with my husband and he has more than one godchild. We believe as well that the role of the godparent is to help encourage, support and guide the child on their faith journey. (We are not just an "extra gift" on special occasions.) I believe you need to choose who is best for those reasons and I imagine that person would be totally fine if they were chosen more than once. As far as a creative way I'm short on those ideas. I was asked over a dinner at the parents home. I just believe in person is the best way, verses email or phone, and that person will be honored. Blessings to you all.

Hey, SJ!
Too many people think that godparenting is just for show or somehow only an honorarium. For those of us who take faith seriously, it is essential that those we ask to be godparents take it seriously as well. In fact, their primary job is to make promises on behalf of the infant and then help the child to keep those promises him/herself when the time comes. That means living a faithful life and being as good an example as one can, and talking about what it means to "walk the talk" of faith.
BTW, we asked our kids (2) godparents both before and afterward. We did it over dinner and told them what it was about them that made us want to have them a part of our lives in that way.
God bless your pregnancy and your decision-making!

My husband and I are also practicing catholics and believe strongly that a god parent should not just be a title. My sister and my father are my daughter's godparents, but I did not want to leave my father's girlfriend (long-term) out of the picture because my daughter considers her "nana." So, I made her an honorary godmother, although I don't think honorary is the "right" word (can't remember what they called it). My daughter was baptized at the Basilica (downtown MPLS) and they had a spot on the form for "honorary" and they mentioned her name. She was really really happy and I was really glad that I did it that way.

Congratulations! We asked early in the pregnancy and were choosy as well, believing as you do that the primary role is spiritual guidance especially in the event that something happens to both of us.

I don't think there's a "rule" about when to ask, whenever you're comfortable asking. Same with having the same godparents; all up to you. My oldest son has a Godmother and a sponsor, no godfather at all. No rule against that one either, apparently. ;-)

My sister is godmother to my youngest son, but we long ago asked (and she agreed) that if anything happened to us that she and her husband would take all the children because she is the most like-minded in terms of religion/upbringing. While the role of godparent was intended for this, there's no rule that say they must. I would (and obviously have) dealt with those possibilities (God forbid they happen) separately.

I would say whatever you are comfortable with doing is right in this situation. That you are considering all the possibilities up front shows incredible foresight and preparedness in the first place. Good luck!

I am also Catholic. I have ended up having my parents be the Godparents for several of my children, because there just wasn't anyone else suitable. My brothers and sister are not practicing and my husbands aren't Catholic. If I can use my parents over again, I am sure it is fine to use your sister several times. I usually ask before the baby is born.

I tried to be kind and have my sister and one brother be Godparent, but in the end my children have ended up praying for the conversion of their Godparent. Choosing Godparents these days is hard.

We are going through this as well. Our 3rd child is 6 months old and we haven't had her baptized yet. Partly because of scheduling conflicts and also because we haven't been able to decide on Godparents. Yes, you can use the same Godparents over again. In our case we used family for our other 2 children, and some close friends, but now we don't really feel that our family is a good choice for spiritual leadership, since none of them are active in church. So, this time we are again choosing some really close friends who we know have a strong faith and will be there for my child.

We have 5 children, and only with our last did we choose who we truly thought would be good godparents. With the others, there was family pressure to pick sibblings (non-practicing Catholics or even left the church). If you believe that godparents are important, then I highly recommend picking a responsible adult who agrees with your views of what a godparent should be.
God Bless!
H. :-)

My sister is godmother to all three of my children- I asked her the minute I was pregnant with each of them. They all have her and one other god mother and two godfathers. I wanted someone who would be able to take all three of my kids. My last one, I ask the god fathers a couple of weeks before the bapitsm.- We had a hard time figuring out who we wanted to be good role models for our son. Good Luck, and do what you feel is right. Some who would give your children what you would give them.

Good for you. I honestly can't remember if we asked the godparents before or after the birth, but I think it was after. For each of my sons we didn't have the baptism until they were 4-5 months old so there was time. Both of my boys have the same godparents. My husband and I both come from small families and just decided to go with that. My brother, who is now married, but was single for both baptisms is their godfather and my husband's only aunt is their godmother. Good luck and congratulations on the baby!

I have 2 sons and they both have the same godparents and they were asked (each time) during the pregnancy. We were in a similar situation. I have one brother and my husband has one sister, both of whom were baptized Catholic, but neither of whom are/were active in the church. We hated NOT to ask them, but felt that our sons' godparents should be religious role models. In the end, we chose my cousin, who is like a sister to me, and my husband's best friend for our older son's godparents. When I became pregnant with our second, we were in the midst of moving out-of-state and just thought it would be "easier" for both boys to have the same godparents. I also worried about superficial things like them being treated equally (with regards to gifts, etc.) by 2 different sets of godparents so thought this was the best choice. If we'd had more choices, and if we lived closer to our family, I would have chosen 2 different pairs like my parents did for my brother and myself, but I don't regret the decision that we made. Good luck!!

We are raising our son in the Roman Catholic Church, too.

We asked his godparents after he was born, but before we planned the baptism, so that we could pick a mutually agreeable weekend.

It's just fine to use the same godparent again and again. In fact, if you are looking for someone to actually be an "active" godparent, you may end up having to do so.

Our church calls the honorary godparents, "sponsors". At our church, the child HAS to have 1 active, Catholic godfather, and 1 active, Catholic godmother. In addition, we could have had as many non-Catholic "sponsors" of either gender as we wished.

My son's godmother is my stepsister, who we are close to. The godfather is my husband's friend, and I have been disappointed in his lack of involvement. If I had known that his participation would have ended with posing for photos after the ceremony, I would have picked someone else.

I grew up Catholic but am practicing Lutheran now because my husband is Lutheran and we couldn't agree on a religion and I wanted to raise our children with religion without confusing them. Anyway, obviously your religious beliefs are important but I want my children's godparents to be people who lead good lives (have the same morals, upbringing techniques, values) not necessarily have the exact same religious beliefs I do. Most religions practice good Christian values and that is what is really important. I was raised Catholic and went to a Catholic school for eight years and still have the same beliefs. You can teach your kids those same beliefs but when they are grown they may or may not follow in your footsteps. I guess what I am saying if the people you choose for godparents are good people with the same agenda in raising your kids I don't necessarily think they have to have the same religious beliefs not to have a positive impact on their life! Good luck!

I asked my sisters toward the end of the pregnancy both times; but my husband asked his brothers earlier b/c they live out of state and he wanted to ask them in person when they were visiting. (one godmother/godfather for each child) One of my uncles is Godfather to both me and one of my sisters, but the other sister and brother have different so yes, you could have the same person for each child. Really you should choose whoever you think will fill the role the way you want it to be filled! (That is why my brother is not a Godfather to either of my girls--he is 21 and has a lot of growing up to do!)

I have two daughters and they have the same godmother but different godfathers. We have a few close male friends who are practicing catholics but only one dear girlfriend who fit that description. Like you, we took this role very seriously. We chose to ask our godparents after both girls were born (closer to the baptism). We took them out to dinner, when we did ask. I also made it very clear to the godmother (the second time) that I realized that it was a huge responsibility and if she didn't feel up to the challenge of a second godchild, there was absolutely no pressure. Goodluck and congratulations!

Yes, you can use the same Godparent over and over again. The Godparent is supposed to be a practicing Catholic and at our parish the Godparent and their priest have to sign a form stating that this is true. So, I recommend that you speak with your priest about your situation first.

When our first child was born we ended up asking friends to be this role in our child's life. We first considered asking my husband's brother, but at the time he was dating a non-Catholic and he told us that he would leave the Church and join her church if she wanted him too. Because of this we chose not to ask him. It certainly did ruffle his feathers. He was very hurt. I wrote him a letter explaining to him how important this was to us and how he was so non-committal to our faith that it wasn't best for our child. I did tell him how important he was as an Uncle to our son and I didn't want this too change the fact that our son still needed him to be in his life.
Fast forward - he did marry that girl and eventually did the leave the Catholic church and joined her church. So, we made a prudent decision that was best for us and our son. It's hard for me because no one in my family is Catholic and there's not too many in my husband's family that we can ask too. We have chosen friends/family who we know the faith is very important in their life and will pray for our child. This is what it is supposed to be about. I know it's difficult. Again, I would talk to your priest.
Good luck and congratulations!

Congrats on the expectation of your new baby! She/he will be such a joy for you and your husband! There isn't a problem with having the same godmother for more than one child, as long as she's up for the responsibility. My daughter has one godmother and two godfathers. I think the number allowed depends on your church. We could have as many as we wanted, any gender, as long as one of them was a practicing Catholic. I think we asked ours just after Avery was born, and she was baptized about a month later. You could ask at any time, I'd suggest earlier if you're planning the baptism for soon after the birth. I didn't do anything creative, and I can't think of anything right off hand. Sorry I can't help with that part of your question. Enjoy the last few weeks of your pregnancy and the birth of your first beautiful baby!

WE too are catholic. We ended up choosing one catholic and one non-catholic (but spiritually active) person for each of our kids. My catholic sister and my husbands best friend, also catholic were chosen for my son. Neither is married, so that worked out. For my daughter we chose my husbands brother who is not catholic and my cousin who is. One is married, the other in a relationship. We tried to make them understand why we did this. Now we are expecting #3, and are not sure what we are going to do this time. We tried to have a balance between families, and make sure there would be spiritual guidance at the same time. Hope this helps, good luck!

Check with the church where your child will be baptized about their policy regarding godparents. Different Catholic Churches have different policies within the greater Catholic rules. Our church only allowed two godparents but didn't mind of they were of the same gender. One godparent had to be Catholic. Each of my children also have two honorary godparents who didn't participate in the religious ceremony, but carry the title and are very important to our children.