The Role Of The Godmother In The Spanish Catholic Denomination

Do you know the role of the godmother in the Spanish Catholic denomination? Traditionally, the godmother is the mother of the groom and helps with certain aspects of the wedding ceremony. In general, the godmother’s duties depend on the type of wedding. Do you know what these are? Do you know why this role is so important?

In this article, we will discuss the main tasks of the godmother at the wedding in the Spanish Catholic denomination.

Godparents and the Church

When it comes to traditional Spanish weddings, we all imagine a woman, usually the groom’s mother, leading her son down the aisle. Then, she stays with him throughout the ceremony, receiving guests, offering her help to make things work smoothly, and so on. This is the role of the godmother in the Spanish Catholic denomination.

Although the role may seem very important from a functional point of view, it is much more important from a religious point of view. The godmother also exists in other ceremonies, such as baptism and confirmation. The godmother is mentioned in Canon Law and serves as “assistance”.

However, the role of the godfather is not important at the wedding. The godfather “helps” spiritually to initiate the faith as a mandatory figure during Baptism and Holy Communion. Canon law does not consider it necessary during the marriage ceremony. Therefore, its role is only symbolic and is not necessary at the wedding.

In any case, the requirements to be godparents, according to Canon Law, are:

Are the witness and the godmother the same person?

Not. It’s not the same thing. The witness is not a religious person, but the person who, by law, must confirm the marriage. Therefore, at most weddings it is normal for the godparents to be witnesses if they wish. But the witnesses may be other people.

Because the witnesses do not have to be religious, they are there for legal purposes. Therefore, the Church does not require them to be Christians or baptized. According to the law, they only need to have legal capacity (to be of legal age) to attend the marriage and sign the certificate.

The role of the godmother in the Spanish Catholic denomination: 4 tasks

As we have seen, tradition requires you to have a godmother at Catholic weddings. The godmothers have some important duties, although they are not official.

Let’s take a look.

Help the groom choose his suit

Helping the groom choose his costume for the wedding day is one of the most important duties of the godmother. Most of the time, the godmother will pay for the suit. In any case, she must help the groom make the right decision.

But that’s not all. The godmother has a key role in the wedding. Therefore, her outfit must meet specific standards. It must look elegant and be well dressed… and never wear white or black.

He leads the groom to the altar

He joins his godfather as he leaves the church

The groom comes to the wedding with the godmother and the bride with the godfather before they are officially announced as husband and wife. Then, after the ceremony, the newlyweds leave the church together.

For this reason, a new tradition has emerged in which the godfather and godmother leave the church together, right behind the bride and groom. The godfather sits to the right of the godmother and both are also congratulated by the guests as they leave.

Host the wedding

Traditionally, the godmother is a key character at the wedding – although she is not as important as the bride and groom, of course! Therefore, she sits next to the bride and groom at the reception to ensure that all guests are well and having fun.

Another tradition is that the godmother must help prepare all the details of the wedding (from the floral decoration to the party).

Do you want to get married in church? Do you know who your godmother will be?