Baptism Question...

this may sound nuts but I am not sure about something (and I went to Catholic schhol my entire life)...lol. Do both godparents have to be catholic ?? I am catholic but my dh is not. I know he will want to pick his best friend as godfather but his friend is jewish. Can this be done???

TIA

Re: Baptism Question...

I had the same situation. I wanted a jewish godmother and a catholic godfather. I talked to the deacon (who happens to be my friend's father) and he said it was fine. When I got the certificate, it didn't have her name on it...so I added it...

I think it depends on the church though...

Re: Baptism Question...

It depends on your parish. Some want them both to be catholic, some require only 1 be catholic.

Re: Baptism Question...

My church required at least one godparent to be Cathloic and the other to be "of christian faith". Actually, they never asked for proof.

Re: Baptism Question...

No, a Jewish person cannot be a godparent - they believe in the exact opposite of what Catholicism is. Just like a person who has converted from Catholicism to another faith cannot be a godparent because they have renounced the Catholic faith.

At least one godparent must be Catholic while the other can be a Christian - known as a Christian Witness.

I'm surprised that Stefanie's deacon allowed her Jewish friend to be a Godparent. Her name wasn't on the certificate because they probably didn't put it in the book either - that was most likely his way of getting around the issue.

I worked in a church as a parish secretary for many years, so I used to deal with this all the time.