Altar boys rotation program

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Cristiano

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Let me start by saying that in most cases I consider a good thing to have female altar servers IMHO (search my previous posts on the topic). However, this post has specifically to do with altar serving as a preparatory tool for the priesthood of our young men. So this time my focus is only on altar boys. Please do not degenerate it in a debate about females being allowed to serve at the altar or we will just kill the thread for no reason.

Last night when leaving the church I was talking to my son who is an almost 12 yo altar server. He was mentioning the fact that it would be great to be a priest and to go to different parish to concelebrate.

I also remembered when a few weeks ago he was called to serve a special occasion Mass celebrated by the Bishop. At that time the MC , a seminarian that we know and respect, told the servers that one of their first obligations to be successful servers is to be flexible.

The whole thing made me think. What about if a diocese were to establish an altar boy rotation program. That would expose the boys to different parish realities. For now I am listing what I think are the pros. I ask the people in this forum to add pros, add cons and propose solutions to the cons.

1- The boys would become aware of the different pastoral needs (e.g. rich parish vs. poor parish, large parish vs. small parish, young community vs. aging community)

2- All the servers will have the privilege of serving with different priests and of realizing that there are not only a handful of priests around (the ones from their parish and the occasional visiting one) but a lot of them. They will became aware that being a priest is a “normal” thing to do.

3- The boys would understand the “different concepts” of reverence and behaviors when attending parishes with more formal masses.

4- The boys would feel more motivated to bring back a true reverence (not just formality) to their own parishes and they will force the adults to review their behaviors.

5- The boys that have the privilege of a rigid formal training will serve as ambassadors to the children in the other parishes with the hope of expanding the ranks of the parishes that are being visited.

6- In a diocese with different forms, rites, and languages they will discover the richness of our liturgies and traditions.

7- It will be an opportunity to improve their catechesis.

8- They will have a better idea of what being a priest in the Universal Church is about and they will be more apt to understand that their calling in life is probably about priesthood even if not in their specific parish or diocese.

Please add your (name removed by moderator)ut. I am seriously looking at the possibility of setting up this kind of program in my diocese with the help of the Serra Club and so I ask you to please refrain from debates about things that could not be directly influenced by such program.
 
It sounds like it could have a lot of positive influence, however I see a couple of problems that might prevent implementation. First, not all parents will be able to go to different parishes with their sons who are serving and the rest of the family. Also, each parish is different in terms of where the servers are supposed to sit/stand/kneel. It may be difficult for the kids to remember if they are supposed to sit off to the side at St. Mary’s and next to the priest at St. John’s, etc.
 
Great Idea.

I am in charge of Servers at My parish and we are starting a confraternity of Altar Boys. This confraternity will emphasize that they belong to a special vocation. We will really be making a big association with the altar boy and Priest. I know there used to be confraternities for Altar boys…but have fallen by the wayside the last 15-20 years or so;)
 
I think this is an idea with wonderful potential. How clever of you to think of it.

I would think it may be best with older boys, young men who have reached the point where they are seriously considering their vocation in life. They would then be role models to the younger boys. Some being over 16 would also facilitate transportation, as they may drive. Also, sending them out in pairs – as Jesus did his followers – would help with the logistics.

Good luck with this inspired thought. 👍
 
Kind of impossible in my Archdiocese. We have almost 300 parishes. Even broken up by county, there is still a large area to cover, and it might be difficult for families to transport servers to different parishes. I think most pastors/priests would find it bothersome to go through retraining visiting servers to their specific parish needs.
What might work here is for the diocese high schools (who I believe all require service hours) to have a program for young men to be available for early Masses or evening Masses. I know those Masses usually don’t have younger students scheduled. If he high schools in the area made their local parishes aware that students would participate on a regular basis, the parishes might be open to that. If those high school students drove, they would be able to get around on their own as well. I think the idea of introducing young men to a variety of priests and parishes is a great one.
 
I think it’s a great idea – but it would be a great deal of work if done at a diocesan level and there would be resistance from some.

Someone mentioned starting a local confraternity for servers and I don’t think that’s an answer. I would like to see a national archconfraternity like they have in England: guildofststephen.all-catholic.net/

We used to have one of sorts here in the USA known as the Knights of the Altar but it seems to have died out.

A national archconfraternity could provide a great service in terms of training materials, resources, etc…

Here is a fascinating little read:

sanctamissa.org/EN/serving/knights-of-the-altar.pdf
 
Cristiano said:
…Please add your (name removed by moderator)ut. I am seriously looking at the possibility of setting up this kind of program in my diocese with the help of the Serra Club and so I ask you to please refrain from debates about things that could not be directly influenced by such program.
Click to expand...
A good place to start might be to train a real first-class group of teens to serve your bishop’s Masses. Most dioceses in the past had a cadre known as “Pontifical Servers.”

You would need his approval and his close (name removed by moderator)ut but it might be very well received – or rejected. If you put the time, effort and prayer into forming such a team that “traveled” with the bishop, it could really pave the way for the next steps.

I would however guess if you received the permissions to assemble and train such a corp of youg men that you might be pressured to include young women – at least at first.
 
JuanMilton said:
A good place to start might be to train a real first-class group of teens to serve your bishop’s Masses. Most dioceses in the past had a cadre known as “Pontifical Servers.”

You would need his approval and his close (name removed by moderator)ut but it might be very well received – or rejected. If you put the time, effort and prayer into forming such a team that “traveled” with the bishop, it could really pave the way for the next steps.

I would however guess if you received the permissions to assemble and train such a corp of youg men that you might be pressured to include young women – at least at first.
Click to expand...
We already do that in an practical way! They usually call the servers from our parish because they receive the more formal training. However, the goal is not to have servers for the Bishop but open the minds and hearts of this boys through new experiences.

I think that my son is a privileged person and server. I want other boys from other parishes to experience the same privileges. However, your suggestion of using that system as a starting point is a good one.
 
Cristiano said:
We already do that in an practical way! They usually call the servers from our parish because they receive the more formal training. However, the goal is not to have servers for the Bishop but open the minds and hearts of this boys through new experiences.
Click to expand...
Allowing a select group to serve at all the different places a bishop celebrates Mass would do just that.
Cristiano said:
I think that my son is a privileged person and server. I want other boys from other parishes to experience the same privileges. However, your suggestion of using that system as a starting point is a good one.
Click to expand...
If the servers were truly well-trained, polished and experienced, it could really have an effect on other boys’ interest in serving. It might also dissuade little girls from serving which might not always be such a bad thing.
 
JuanMilton said:
I think it’s a great idea – but it would be a great deal of work if done at a diocesan level and there would be resistance from some.

Someone mentioned starting a local confraternity for servers and I don’t think that’s an answer. I would like to see a national archconfraternity like they have in England: guildofststephen.all-catholic.net/

We used to have one of sorts here in the USA known as the Knights of the Altar but it seems to have died out.

A national archconfraternity could provide a great service in terms of training materials, resources, etc…

Here is a fascinating little read:

sanctamissa.org/EN/serving/knights-of-the-altar.pdf
Click to expand...
It is still around. Not real well known these days, but still there. Knights of the Altar:) What memories that brings back. I actually was a Senior Knight. . It was one of the best organizations I have ever had the privilige of belonging to. I wish that all young men so called could belong to this great group. I believe that the Church issued some directives on it in the late 70’s or so if I’m not mistaken…
 
Lovemyfaith said:
Kind of impossible in my Archdiocese. We have almost 300 parishes. Even broken up by county, there is still a large area to cover, and it might be difficult for families to transport servers to different parishes. I think most pastors/priests would find it bothersome to go through retraining visiting servers to their specific parish needs.
.
Click to expand...
It works here and Our diocese serves nearly 40 counties and it is 110 miles from one end of the diocese to the other. The chancery is located at the opposite end of the diocese from our parish.
 
JuanMilton said:
I would however guess if you received the permissions to assemble and train such a corp of youg men that you might be pressured to include young women – at least at first.
Click to expand...
I know the OP hasnt mentioned this but the PRIMARY reason for our Guild is to bring back the understanding of the Altar boy and his potential vocation to the priesthood. We are hoping that perhaps some of the women in the parish would do the same for the Girls in our church…by starting a Blessed Imelda Society or a Guilld for girls to help with Altar Linens etc. You know utilize a better method of understanding roles in Church.
 
THurifer2 said:
It works here and Our diocese serves nearly 40 counties and it is 110 miles from one end of the diocese to the other. The chancery is located at the opposite end of the diocese from our parish.
Click to expand...
Wow- there are 40 counties in 110 miles? How big are the counties? How many parishes? There are close to 300 here, it would take nearly a year for a group to visit every parish to serve a Mass there. Not to mention most priests would (more than likely) find it bothersome to schedule in the group and go over the details for a once a year visit.
Seminarians in this Archdiocese serve the Masses the Cardinal Celebrates. The problem with a select group of servers for the Auxilary Bishops is that takes the opportunity away from servers at the parish where the that Bishop is Celebrating Mass.
 
Cristiano said:
Let me start by saying that in most cases I consider a good thing to have female altar servers IMHO (search my previous posts on the topic). However, this post has specifically to do with altar serving as a preparatory tool for the priesthood of our young men. So this time my focus is only on altar boys. Please do not degenerate it in a debate about females being allowed to serve at the altar or we will just kill the thread for no reason.

Last night when leaving the church I was talking to my son who is an almost 12 yo altar server. He was mentioning the fact that it would be great to be a priest and to go to different parish to concelebrate.

I also remembered when a few weeks ago he was called to serve a special occasion Mass celebrated by the Bishop. At that time the MC , a seminarian that we know and respect, told the servers that one of their first obligations to be successful servers is to be flexible.

The whole thing made me think. What about if a diocese were to establish an altar boy rotation program. That would expose the boys to different parish realities. For now I am listing what I think are the pros. I ask the people in this forum to add pros, add cons and propose solutions to the cons.

1- The boys would become aware of the different pastoral needs (e.g. rich parish vs. poor parish, large parish vs. small parish, young community vs. aging community)

2- All the servers will have the privilege of serving with different priests and of realizing that there are not only a handful of priests around (the ones from their parish and the occasional visiting one) but a lot of them. They will became aware that being a priest is a “normal” thing to do.

3- The boys would understand the “different concepts” of reverence and behaviors when attending parishes with more formal masses.

4- The boys would feel more motivated to bring back a true reverence (not just formality) to their own parishes and they will force the adults to review their behaviors.

5- The boys that have the privilege of a rigid formal training will serve as ambassadors to the children in the other parishes with the hope of expanding the ranks of the parishes that are being visited.

6- In a diocese with different forms, rites, and languages they will discover the richness of our liturgies and traditions.

7- It will be an opportunity to improve their catechesis.

8- They will have a better idea of what being a priest in the Universal Church is about and they will be more apt to understand that their calling in life is probably about priesthood even if not in their specific parish or diocese.

Please add your (name removed by moderator)ut. I am seriously looking at the possibility of setting up this kind of program in my diocese with the help of the Serra Club and so I ask you to please refrain from debates about things that could not be directly influenced by such program.
Click to expand...
I think it is an excellent idea. And if there is a TLM Mass in the area, how wonderful would it be for each Altar Boy to serve the TLM as well. Those discerning the priesthood would gain much by serving both forms imo.
 
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