About the Altar Guild

The object of the Guild is the sanctification of the Altar Server by teaching him, that to serve in the Sanctuary is a great religious privilege, by instructing him the manner of observing the rites and ceremonies of the Church according to the rubrics and to the decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites and the interpretations of the most generally accepted authorities, and by encouraging him to understand the meaning and the purpose of the ceremonies in which he takes part.

The Guild started in England in March 1905 by Father Hamilton MacDonald, with the permission of the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Bourne. In November 1906 Pope Pius X recognized and blessed the Guild. On February 19th 1934, Pope Pius XI allowed the Guild to spread worldwide.

The Guild was brought to St. Stephen the First Martyr Catholic Church in 2003 by Fr. John Berg of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

A young man is accepted in to the Guild after First Communion and remains a “server in training” for one year. It is during this time that the young man should serve Mass as a side server as often as possible so that he can learn the responses and movements of the different positions at Mass. After this one-year period, he can test quarterly for the following levels in this order:

Torch Bearer
Low Mass Acolyte
High (Sung) Mass Acolyte
Solemn Mass Acolyte
Thurifer

MC’s are nominated by fellow MC’s and selected by the Director (Pastor of the Parish) of the Guild.

During a young man’s training, he will receive medals to distinguish the levels that he has achieved. The medals are given as follows:

Junior Acolyte: Silver Medal w/ribbon, signifying that the young man has learned all of his Latin responses and has learned all the movements up to and including Acolyte 2 at Low Mass.
Senior Acolyte: Silver Medal w/cord, signifying that the young man has learned all of movements up to and including Thurifer at Solemn High Mass.
MC: Gold Medal w/cord, signifying that the young man has mastered all of the movements of every server at any type of Mass, the movements of the Priest, Deacon, and Sub-Deacon, and is able to effectively teach these positions to other servers.

Guild members are expected to always be respectful of Holy and blessed objects, Priests, fellow Guild members, and St. Stephen’s parishioners. They are also required to attend monthly practices regularly, recite the daily Guild prayers, and to serve Mass as often as they come even if it is on the side.

For any questions or concerns about the St. Stephen’s Altar Guild of Sacramento California (FSSP), please contact Alfred Nicolini via email at: ststephensaltarguild@yahoo.com