VEYO :: Formation

On Wednesday October 26th, 2005 Craig Cruikshank, one of our diocesan seminarians, was instituted in the ministry of acolyte at a Mass at St. Augustine Seminary in Toronto where he is presently in his second year of theology. Mass was celebrated by Bishop De Angelis of Peterborough who went down to the seminary for the occasion.

The acolyte is appointed in order to aid the deacon and to minister to the priest. It is his duty therefore to attend to the service of the altar and to assist the deacon and the priest in liturgical celebrations, especially in the celebration of Mass; he is also to distribute communion as a special minister when other ministers are not available or when the number of communicants is so great that the celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. In the same extraordinary circumstances an acolyte may be entrusted with publicly exposing the Blessed Sacrament for adoration by the faithful and afterward, without blessing the people, placing it back in the tabernacle. He may also, to the extent needed, take care of instructing other faithful who on a temporary basis are appointed to assist the priest or deacon in liturgical celebrations by carrying the missal, cross, candles, etc., or by performing other such duties. He will perform these functions more worthily if he participates in the Holy Eucharist with increasingly fervent devotion, receives nourishment from it, and deepens his knowledge about it.

In preparation for the priesthood seminarians are instituted first in the ministry of reader and then of acolyte. Finally, once the seminarian's formation has progressed and his intention has sufficiently matured, he is being admitted among the candidates for Holy Orders.

In His Apostolic Letter entitled Ministeria quaedam, Pope Paul VI reformed the disciplines of first tonsure, minor orders and the subdiaconate in the Latin Church so that from August 15, 1972 and on there would solely remain the reformed ministries of reader and acolyte. Prior to the publication of this Apostolic Letter by Pope Paul VI, the ministries of reader and acolyte were reserved to candidates for holy orders alone. Now, lay Christians may be admitted to the ministries of reader and acolyte as long as it is in accordance with Canon 230 from the Code of Canon Law. One who is admitted to the ministry of reader is permitted to read from sacred Scripture in the Mass, with exception to the Gospel, and is permitted to read from sacred Scripture at other sacred celebrations. A reader also has other functions that are described in Ministeria quaedam. One who is admitted to the ministry of acolyte is permitted to distribute Holy Communion as an extraordinary minister if several conditions are met as outlined in the Apostolic Letter mentioned above. An acolyte also has other functions that are described in Ministeria quaedam.

With the permission of my local Ordinary, I was admitted to the ministry of acolyte on Wednesday November 7th, 2007 by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bishop Matthew Francis Ustrzycki. Seminarian Jerry Tavares was admitted to the ministry of acolyte in 2006 and Rev. Mr. Craig Cruickshank was admitted to the ministry of acolyte in 2005. We can hopefully look forward to Seminarian Nicholas Carvalho being admitted to the ministry of acolyte on Wednesday November 5th, 2008 by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Bishop Nicola De Angelis. We can also hopefully look forward to Seminarian Jerry Tavares being admitted to the ministry of reader on Wednesday November 12th, 2008 by His Grace, the Most Reverend Archbishop Brendan O’Brien.