Come and See
Walking Beside Someone in Faith
An OCIA sponsor accompanies another person through prayer, friendship, witness, and participation in the life of the Church.
What Is an OCIA Sponsor?
An OCIA sponsor is a practicing Catholic who walks closely with someone as they explore the Catholic faith and prepare for the sacraments.
A sponsor isn’t expected to know every answer or serve as a private catechist. The most important things a sponsor offers are a faithful Catholic example, regular prayer, honest friendship, encouragement, and a willingness to participate in the life of the Church alongside the person they accompany.
A sponsor prays regularly for the person they accompany, attends OCIA gatherings when possible, joins them for important rites and parish events, and helps them become more comfortable with the ordinary life of the Church.
A sponsor also listens, encourages, answers questions honestly, and knows when to bring a question to the OCIA team. The goal isn’t to manage someone’s journey, but to walk with them as a faithful friend as Christ leads them.
What Does a Sponsor Do?
Who Makes a Good Sponsor?
A good sponsor doesn’t need to be perfect or have every aspect of the Catholic faith figured out.
A sponsor should be someone who is sincerely living the Catholic faith, participates regularly in the sacramental life of the Church, and is willing to keep growing alongside the person they accompany.
Sponsors should be dependable, prayerful, respectful of another person’s pace, and comfortable listening without trying to control the journey. Before someone formally serves as a sponsor for the rites and sacraments, the OCIA team will also help confirm that the Church’s requirements are met and provide training and support. You aren't journeying alone.
Some people enter OCIA already knowing a practicing Catholic who may be able to serve as their sponsor. Others don’t yet have someone in mind—and that’s completely normal.
At St. Anne, no one is expected to find a sponsor immediately. The OCIA team allows relationships to grow naturally and can help identify or match a suitable sponsor when the time is right. The goal is not simply to fill a role for a ceremony, but to form a genuine relationship of Christian accompaniment.
How Are Sponsors Chosen?
Sponsors Are Accompanied Too
Sponsors aren’t expected to serve alone. St. Anne provides formation, guidance, and practical resources to help sponsors understand the OCIA journey, participate in the rites, and accompany another person with confidence and care.
Sponsors are encouraged to remain close to the OCIA team, come to the Tuesday night OCIA gatherings when possible, ask questions when they arise, and continue growing in their own prayer and Catholic life. Accompanying someone else often becomes a grace-filled season of renewal for the sponsor as well.
Interested in Becoming a Sponsor?
Serving as an OCIA sponsor is a meaningful way to welcome another person into the life of the Church.
You don’t need to have every answer—only a sincere Catholic faith, a willingness to grow, and a desire to walk faithfully beside someone else, and experience your own faith be transformed!
Contact Beth Plymale, Director of OCIA, to learn more about serving as a sponsor at St. Anne.