We too had trouble finding local "active practicing" godparents. For my first child, we went to California where we had decent roots and two godparents available who were active in the faith. For my second, we had one godparent who did not have to take the class but had to be in good standing with his church and one "christian witness". For my third we could not find a single active practicing local person and having a stand-in was not allowed (as some PP's have mentioned). I ended up asking the husband of a lady I had come to know. Talk to your parish office and see what they can do to help you. Different parishes have different rules unfortunately.

Clearly they didn't follow the parish's rules for godparents. They should attend the seminar!

Anonymous wrote:my child was just baptized last week in a catholic church but, her godparents did not show up for the seminar before the baptism because they already attended too much baptism seminars in the past. now, the church won't release her baptismal certificate until all of them attends the seminar. what is that all about?

It's "about" your friend's aren't allowed to make up the rules. Apparantly a couple hours of their time is more important to them than their role as godparents. Great choice of godparents there.

my child was just baptized last week in a catholic church but, her godparents did not show up for the seminar before the baptism because they already attended too much baptism seminars in the past. now, the church won't release her baptismal certificate until all of them attends the seminar. what is that all about?

Anonymous wrote:So what is a Christening?

Episcopal/Anglican/WASP term.

So what is a Christening?

Anonymous wrote:I always thought it was called a Christening in the Catholic church, not a Baptism.

But, hey, I'm not Catholic.

Catholics refer to it as a Baptism.

I always thought it was called a Christening in the Catholic church, not a Baptism.

But, hey, I'm not Catholic.

OP, not inclined to read all the posts, frankly. It is possible. Talk to the priest. But really, don't become Catholic unless you mean it. Becoming Catholic for the wrong reasons is well, wrong.

We have the same problem and are currently planning a baptism for our almost 3yo. We are reusing a brother (and beloved uncle) who is the godparent to our older child. He is the person I would want to raise my kids in any disaster so it feels more appropriate than just digging up a random Catholic person. OP, requirements can vary by parish, some will want two individuals who totally fulfill the requirements (eg parishioner in good standing, not just Catholic), others are more lenient. We;re doing it at my childhood parish in hopes they will permit my brother's fiance, who was raised Jewish, to have some kind of a formal role.

Have you thought about delaying the baptism? If you are not participating in the faith right now and don't plan to for some time, why not wait? If you delay until he is older, your son will be able to participate and learn the reasons for his baptism and it will give you both time to decide if this is truly something you want rather than just being the next supposed step.

I don't see it at all as "missing out because of parent mistakes." If you all approach his baptism as something you all choose to do, you can take classes together and make it truly a sacrament that you are all ready for rather than something getting done because infant baptism is all you've known.

We are military and have stood in for the actual godparents for our friend's child's Catholic baptismal ceremony.

Their out of town family members were the actual godparents, but were unable to make the trip.

No, you need to have at least one godparent. But it doesn't have to be someone local. So if you have family that are distant that is fine. If you have no one that you can ask, talk to your pastor, they can often connect you with someone who will take on the role of godparent.

can you ask the priest at your church? do you have any relatives that might fit the bill? i found it hard when looking at friends to be godparents because some of the ones I wanted to choose weren't Catholic.

My husband and I were both raised Catholic, but neither of us have been active in the church since leaving for college. We recently had our first child and do believe it's important for our child be be baptized. Although we aren't comfortable with ALL of the Catholic church's teachings we do believe in many of them and want our son to have a good religious foundation. We plan on taking him to church each week when he gets a bit older. We moved to the DC area not too long ago and don't have anyone that meets the church's requirements for godparents that we would feel comfortable asking to take on that responsibility. Would it be possible to get our son baptized without godparents? I really do think it's important and I don't want him to miss out because of mistakes his parents have made in the past.