The Grand Séminaire de l’Archidiocèse de Montréal will open the 2022-2023 new academic term on Thursday, September 15, beginning at 7:30 p.m., at Saint-Arsène church, located at 1015 Bélanger St. in Montreal.

On this occasion, four future priests enrolled in studies at the Grand Séminaire will be invested with the ministry of acolytes. They are:

Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Montreal Alain Faubert will preside at the ceremony.

What does investiture with the ministry of acolyte mean?

The ministry of acolyte, or ministry in the service of community prayer and the Eucharist, permits the seminarian to assist the deacon and the priest in leading prayer meetings, as well as in serving at Mass. Depending on the community’s needs, the acolyte may now be entrusted with exposing the Holy Sacrament for adoration by the faithful and subsequently reposing it, without performing the blessing.

It is also the acolyte’s responsibility to distribute Holy Communion as an extraordinary minister.

The ministries of lector and acolyte are both “instituted ministries,” meaning that these particular functions are conferred on a layperson specifically by the bishop. In his motu proprio apostolic letter Spiritus Domini, issued January 11, 2021, Pope Francis decreed that the ministries of Lector and Acolyte should also be opened up to women to serve, as lectors for the Word of God and at the altar as acolytes.

For those receiving these ministries, the investiture is most often a step towards ordination and receiving further graces by subsequent degrees.

Members of the media wishing to take part in the ceremony are invited to contact the undersigned.

About the Grand Séminaire de l’Archidiocèse de Montréal (gsam-montreal,org)

Since 1840, the Grand Séminaire de l’Archidiocèse de Montréal has had as its chief mission the formation of priests with a deep devotion to Jesus Christ.

Additionally, the new Grand Séminaire is a general basic training centre in philosophy, theology and pastoral ministry for religious men and women and laypersons as well, thanks to a partnership with Université Laval’s Faculty of theology and religious sciences. The Grand Séminaire de l’Archidiocèse de Montréal also offers a formation program in preparation for the permanent diaconate.
 

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