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COPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service
One of Marisela Hernandez's fondest memories of her godmother is a ride to a grocery store. There was something special about climbing into Beatrice Martinez's red Mustang and going to buy a few things for a barbecue.
"I always remember that trip," says Hernandez, 34. "I felt like part of her family."
And in a sense, they were family.
Rene and Beatrice Martinez became the girl's godparents when she made her First Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church. But like other Latino godparents, they didn't see their role in her life as strictly spiritual. They took an interest in every part of her life _ her studies, her boyfriends, her career choices.
By becoming mentors and confidants to the girl, the Dallas couple did what many Hispanic godparents _ particularly Catholics _ have done for generations of children. They widened the network of support for their ahijada. They made sure their goddaughter had at least one more person to turn to in times of need.
It's not unusual for madrinas (godmothers) and padrinos (godfathers) to assume this kind of responsibility for their godchildren, says the Rev. John Robert Skeldon, associate pastor at St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Arlington, Texas.
Ever since the early history of Christianity, godparents have acted as sponsors who help guide a child's spiritual...
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