In the case of infants, the necessary dispositions are supplied by the whole community of the believing Church, including the parents and godparents. In other words, infants are saved by the acts of the Church, which communicates her faith to them. Contrary to former customs in some places, parents are now expected to be present at the baptism of their children since they are by God's design an integral part of the grace-life of their little ones. By their presence and participation, they profess their own faith and in a special way represent the Christian community into which the child is initiated. The baptism also provides the occasion for them to renew their dedication to the sacred trust of parenthood which they accepted from God when they married.
Godparents assume a lifelong responsibility for the religious welfare of their godchild.
Ordinarily, they can do this by praying for the godchild and by leading good Christian lives as an example. If, however, parents die or neglect the religious training of the child, godparents must try to supply for the religious upbringing of the child. Godparents must be at least sixteen years old and must have received the sacraments of Communion and Confirmation. A Christian name taken at Baptism is usually the name of a saint. Such a name is normally selected so that the person will have a patron in heaven to whom he can look for inspiration and whose virtues he may imitate.