The ministries of the catechist, lector, and acolyte upon laymen and women for the first time in St. Peter’s Basilica will be conferred by Pope Francis on Sunday, said the Vatican.
During the Papel Mass on Sunday, candidates from three continents will receive the new ministries.
Two people from the Amazonian region in Peru will be formally made catechists by the pope, along with other candidates from Brazil, Ghana, Poland, and Spain.
The ministry of lector will be conferred on lay Catholics from South Korea, Pakistan, Ghana, and Italy.
Each of these ministries will be conferred through a rite prepared by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments that will be presented for the first time, according to a Vatican communique issued on 18 January.
“Before the homily, the candidates will be summoned, called by name and presented to the Church,” it said.
Those called to the ministry of lector will be presented with a Bible, while catechists will be entrusted with a cross.
In this case, it will be a replica of the pastoral cross used by popes St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II.
Pope Francis established the ministry of the catechist as an instituted, vocational service within the Catholic Church last May.
According to the apostolic letter Antiquum ministerium, a layperson called to be instituted in the ministry of catechist should have “deep faith and human maturity,” be an active participant in the life of the Christian community, and be “capable of welcoming others, being generous and living a life of fraternal communion.”
Among the candidates to be inducted into the ministry by Pope Francis this week is the president of the Roman Oratory Center, which was founded by Arnaldo Canepa, who dedicated more than 40 years of his life to the catechetical instruction of children.
The Pope changed Church law in January 2021 so that women can be formally instituted to the lay ministries of lector and acolyte.