Confirmation sponsor

In Paul Turner's Blog by Paul Turner

Q:  I was under the impression that a Confirmation sponsor must be Catholic. I have a friend who was excited as she had been asked by a young girl to be her sponsor.  This friend is not a Catholic.

A:  Canon 893 §1 says that a confirmation sponsor must fulfill the conditions of the baptismal sponsor (godparent) outlined in canon 874.  Canon 874/3 says that a sponsor must be a Catholic who has been confirmed and received the Eucharist.

Your friend, I’m sure, is a wonderful person and a model Christian. But she is ineligible to serve as a Catholic confirmation sponsor.