The Difficult Life of Altar Servers

In 1947, an article titled “These Girls...” (by Alfredo M. Cavagna) was published in the Italian “Rivista del Clero”, addressing an educational issue that was problematic at the time: the author lamented that the educational efforts of the parish priest were mainly directed towards boys, while girls were taken care of by teachers, nuns, and leaders of the Catholic Action. Even after the council, in the Pastoral Directives for the oratories of the Diocese of Bergamo [Youth Pastoral Notes, 9 (1987)], it was stated that “Where separate male and female oratories still exist, they should be maintained, but a joint council of the two oratories should be established, under the presidency of the parish priest, to create identity in educational lines, establish agreed and coordinated programs, and establish moments and gestures of encounter” (n. 18). The same Directives emphasized the importance of having nun educators for girls.

If we shift our focus to the present and to the liturgy, we still risk encountering parish priests (perhaps tied to the educational horizon mentioned above) who openly prefer to be assisted at the altar by boys, not tolerating the presence of girls. Even the term used to define this service recalls the “male” horizon: altar boys, that is, little clerics. One wonders what experience of the Church these girls, the potential adult Christian women of the future, are having. And the

In this regard, one must not forget how the relationship between women and the Church is already in crisis, a crisis that has significant consequences considering that in families it is usually the mother who transmits religious values to her children. Sociologist Luca Diotallevi, precisely in light of women’s disaffection towards the Church, asserts that “the ‘mass’ is no longer a ‘women’s business’ and increasingly a ‘matter of older people’” (“La messa è sbiadita” [The Mass Has Faded], Rubettino Editore, ebook, 2024).

Between Altar Servers and Handmaidens

Alongside the term “altar boy,” the term “altar server” is used, precisely to move away from a “clerical” view of this ministry, which evidently must also be accessible to girls. However, distinctions are still often made between boys and girls. For example, some parishes, within the context of discernment regarding a possible vocational choice oriented towards the priesthood, assign altar service to boys; girls, instead, referred to as “handmaidens”, perform a complementary ministry: welcoming, presenting gifts, distributing songbooks, and notices. Even their attire distinguishes them: cassock and surplice for boys, tunic for girls. Yet, “the ice” on this issue had been “broken” for some time.

During the visit of Pope John Paul II in November 1980 in Germany, girls served at the altar in liturgical celebrations presided over by the Pope: no one reacted negatively. Furthermore, already at Easter of the same year, hundreds of girls from German-speaking Countries had participated in the pilgrimage of altar servers to Rome, although, during the international pilgrimage of altar servers to the “eternal city” in 1985, the girls were not greeted by Vatican officials (Hélène Bricout - Martin Klöckener, Uomini e donne al servizio dell’altare [Men and Women in the Service of the Altar], in E. Massimi-A. Grillo, Donne e uomini: il servizio nella liturgia, [Women and Men: Service in the Liturgy], CLV-Edizioni Liturgiche, Rome 2018).

Again, always with John Paul II, ten years later, in 1995, in the Roman parish of the Saints Mario and Family Martyrs, on the morning of November 5th, four girls served as altar servers.

In reality, there had already been magisterial pronouncements opening up this service to girls. In 1983, the Code of Canon Law, at number 230 §3, prescribed: “Where the needs of the Church warrant it, lay people, even if they are not lectors or acolytes, can supply certain of their duties, namely, to exercise the ministry of the word, preside at liturgical prayers, administer baptism, and distribute holy Communion, according to the prescriptions of the law”.

It is noted how the number speaks neither of men nor of women.

On March 15th, 1994, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments offered an authentic interpretation of this canon (Notitiae, 30, 1994), clarifying that women could also serve at the altar. Naturally, it was specified that this possibility was not binding or mandatory but depended on the diocesan bishop. At the same time, it was recalled that it would always be “very appropriate [...] to follow the noble tradition of altar service by boys. As is known, this has allowed for a comforting development of priestly vocations. There will therefore always be an obligation to continue supporting such groups of altar servers”.

It was added that if for particular reasons the bishop had allowed women to serve at the altar, this required an explanation to the faithful. All of this was confirmed by the Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, which at number 47 stated: “Girls or women may be admitted to this service at the altar at the discretion of the diocesan bishop and in accordance with the norms established”.

The cited texts show the effort on the part of the Holy See to open this service to girls/women, even highlighting the need for institutional control over this ministry, despite the awareness of the absence of theological reasons to prohibit this ministry to girls, as confirmed by Pope Francis’ motu proprio Spiritus Domini (2021), which precisely offered the possibility for women to become instituted acolytes and lectors.

Let’s see what could have been (and perhaps still are) the motivations advanced for such “discrimination”:

-The group of altar servers, as also specified by magisterial documents, has been seen as a “nursery” for vocations to the priesthood;

-Girls are more mature than boys to the extent that they discourage the latter from participating in the group of altar servers;

-Under the pressure of gender theory, some prefer liturgical services to reflect the diversity of genders (still in Hèlène Bricout – Martin Klöckener, “Uomini e donne al servizio dell’altare” [Men and Women in the Service of the Altar]).

One notices the absence of serious and profound theological motivations...

Can girls sing in church?

Another interesting case relates to the question of singing. It is surprising how today the Sistine Chapel and the Cathedral Choir of Milan are “still” composed of only male voices: men and boys.

Certainly, considering the clericalization suffered in history by the ministries of singing and music (starting from the sixth century this process begins inexorably), it is understood how only men and boys have been part of the choirs, the latter to replace the voices of sopranos. But is it still appropriate after about sixty years since Vatican II?

It is known that in 1903, Pius X wrote in the Motu Proprio “Tra le sollecitudini” that women were “incapable” (n. 13) of the liturgical office of cantor, and therefore could not be part of the choir or musical ensembles. A few years later, Monsignor Ferdinando Rodolfi (1866-1943), Bishop of Vicenza, precisely in light of the Motu Proprio, wrote that only boys could sing in the Schola Cantorum. However, the bishop’s insistence on the need for both girls and boys to be trained in singing in elementary school is interesting.

 “Not only should girls be taught in elementary school to sing the Mass and Vespers alone; all should be trained in choral singing, but they should sing with the congregation; and the education of girls should go hand in hand with that of boys” (Ferdinando Rodolfi, Che il popolo canti ossia l’assistenza dei fedeli alla messa cantata [Let the People Sing, i.e. the Assistance of the Faithful at the Sung Mass], Società anonima tipografica, Vicenza 1923).

It is also important to emphasize that in the choir of the pueri cantores of Regensburg (the “Domspatzen”), an institution with more than a thousand years of history, girls can now also participate, and that a mixed youth choir has been added to the boys’ choir of the Escolania de Montserrat.

The liturgy manifests the Church

At this point, we might ask ourselves whether these issues are so important, or if perhaps we have “exaggerated” them... In the liturgy, everything is symbolic, impressive. It leaves a mark, positive or negative. What image of the Church is manifested in the liturgy when there are only altar boys in the sanctuary? Or when the choir consists of only boys? For what reason can’t girls participate in the Eucharist (or other sacraments) by offering their service at the altar? Or sing in institutions like the Sistine Chapel or the Milan Cathedral? What image of the Church remains impressed upon a girl when she watches or listens to the pueri cantores of the Sistine Chapel or the Milan Cathedral during a celebration on television (or in person)? And what does it generate in the boy?

Are we sure that all of this is harmless? In the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, for example, it states that “The schola cantorum, taking into account the layout of each church, should be positioned in such a way as to clearly highlight its nature: namely, that it is part of the community of the faithful and performs its particular function; thus, the fulfillment of its liturgical ministry should be facilitated, and the full sacramental participation in the Mass by each of the members of the schola should be made easier”. How then can it be composed solely of boys?

Fortunately, today in many parishes, no distinction is made between boys and girls anymore, even though, as seen, there remain “visible pockets” of “marginalization” of girls in the liturgy.

We must not forget that instead, by offering boys and girls the opportunity to serve at the altar or in the choir, they are given a privileged “liturgical” and Christian formation, an experience of the Church as a “choral” entity, the People of God.

And today’s girls will be tomorrow’s adult Christians!

by ELENA MASSIMI
Sister of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, President of the Association of Liturgy Professors #sistersproject