A “shining light” of the Taranaki faith community, and arguably one of the country’s oldest altar servers, has died. Sam, who had Down syndrome, became an altar server in 2002 and also regularly welcomed parishioners to weekly services, as a host at the door. On March 1, he died at Chalmers rest home after a short illness, with Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Altar servers’
Cultural clash over altar servers
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2013
Female altar servers are becoming an issue in some parishes that have high numbers of migrants attending Mass, Auckland diocese’s liturgy centre says. Many migrant populations have not been used to women and girls serving in this way, a statement from the liturgy centre to NZ Catholic noted. “This matter has to be handled with Read more
New US priests are cradle Catholics from big families
Friday, May 10th, 2013
He’s a 32-year-old cradle Catholic and former altar boy with three or more siblings. He had a full-time job after gaining an undergraduate degree, and regularly prayed the Rosary before entering the seminary. This is a typical example of the 497 men being ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year, according to Read more
Parents urged not to block a priestly vocation
Friday, June 29th, 2012
Parents should take care not to block their son’s calling to the priesthood, new Vatican guidelines on promoting vocations say. “Even though a sense of respect for the figure of the priest is cultivated in Christian families, it is still noticeable, especially in the West, that they have a certain difficulty in accepting that their Read more
Move away from altar girls reflects wider Catholic debate
Friday, November 25th, 2011
Mass had just begun at Corpus Christi Catholic Church when Jennifer Zickel, a Sunday school teacher, glanced at the church bulletin and saw something that made her sick to her stomach. Tucked in with announcements about a new electronic donation system and a church dinner at Margarita’s Mexican restaurant was news that Zickel, the mother of two Read more
Female altar servers not allowed
Friday, June 10th, 2011
Girls are not allowed to serve at the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, commonly known as the Tridendine Rite. The clarification comes after the recent Vatican encouragement to bishops, for them to “be generous” in providing the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. In answer to question whether female altar servers were permitted in the Extraordinary Read more