Ministries of the RCIA: The Sponsors

Sponsors are members of the local community who are chosen to accompany the candidates and catechumens through the initial periods of conversion. Sometimes the sponsor is a friend of the candidate - perhaps the person the candidate first went to talk to about the Catholic Church. Often the sponsor is someone from the parish who has volunteered to serve as this important and special companion.

The sponsor needs to be a fully initiated member of the Church, and also an active member of the parish community. Besides being a direct support to the candidate or catechumen, the sponsor will help in the discernment process for the candidate, and also give testimony at the rite of acceptance into the order or catechumens.

The responsibility of the sponsor for a particular catechumen ends at the rite of election, when the godparent assumes the responsibility for the catechumen. The sponsor of someone expressing a desire to celebrate full communion in the Catholic Church continues with the candidate throughout the process.

Job Summary: The role of sponsor is to be a companion; your task is to walk with them, guiding either a catechumen or candidate through the process of full initiation into the Church. A catechumen is someone who has not been previously baptized as a Christian. A candidate is someone who was baptized Catholic but has not received formation in the Church.

Team Member Tasks:

Attends the dismissal portion of the catechetical process for the person they are sponsoring. This will take place immediately after the mass where the dismissal is scheduled.
As a member of the RCIA, it will be your role to respect that it takes time for people to grow in their faith and to understand the implications for the Gospel for daily life.
During this process, your role will be to encourage your catechumen/candidate to grow in their knowledge of the teachings of the Catholic Church, help them explore the meaning of Scripture for daily life, encourages them to get to know and to create friendships with members of the parish community, share with them your knowledge of prayer and actively take part in the liturgical life of the community and share with them the joy of serving others.

Abilities Needed:

A desire to get to know more about your Catholic faith through your participation in the RCIA process.
A willingness to share your knowledge of the parish through active listening to your catechumen/candidate.
The ability to share with your catechumen/candidate when you do not know the right answer. You are not expected to know everything about the Scripture and the Catholic Church, just a need to have a willingness to learn more.

Resources Provided:

Handbook for Sponsors, Foundations in Faith series.
Access to Participant Book from Resources for Christian Living.
Direction provided by the RCIA Dismissal Team and the Coordinator for the Rite of Christian Initiation.

Length of Commitment: Your involvement will include taking part in a portion of the Rite of Acceptance Retreat. Your participation is requested in a one and half hour workshop on being a sponsor that will be scheduled in the future. Your assignment officially begins when your catechumen/candidate goes through the Rite of Acceptance to when they are fully initiated into the Catholic Church.

Benefits: Members of the RCIA Initiation team will find that their knowledge and faith in the Catholic Church can be strengthened. Many sponsors in the past have expressed how they have learned and felt closer to God through their service in the RCIA process. It is our prayer that each sponsor will begin to recognize their giftedness and that they will experience first hand how they are created as an image of God.

Become a Sponsor!

If you are interested as serving as a sponsor, we ask you to please contact the St. Mary Parish Office: 231.796.5202.

St. Mary Catholic Church

Faith

Ministries of the RCIA: The Sponsors

Become a Sponsor!