Who may be a godparent?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that godparents should be “firm believers, able and ready to help the newly baptized — child or adult — on the road of Christian life” (CCC 1255). Godparents must, therefore, have a strong and living faith, and they should be supportive of or even instrumental in the catechesis and ongoing formation of the newly baptized person.
Canon law stipulates certain minimal qualifications of godparents (see CIC 874). First, the godparents must be chosen by the parents or, in certain cases, those appropriately acting in their place, and the godparents must have the capacity and intention to serve as godparents. Second, godparents must normally be at least 16 years old. Third, a godparent must be a Catholic in good standing who has been confirmed and has received the holy Eucharist. This person must be living a life of faith as befits the role of a godparent. Fourth, the godparent cannot be the father or mother of the person being baptized.
Sometimes parents wish to have a non-Catholic friend or relative serve as a godparent. While this is not possible, a baptized person who is not Catholic can serve as a “Christian witness” to the baptism along with at least one Catholic godparent. It is not permissible to have only a witness and not a godparent. Someone who is not Christian… Read more at the Arlington Catholic Herald (CatholicHerald.com).