Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist

Peter Balbirnie

Information Specialist

Catholics United for the Faith

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Dear Catholic Exchange:

I asked for the real facts on “Eucharist Ministers.” I claim there is no such thing — there are however Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist to be used only in extraordinary circumstances. My opponent says he is a Eucharistic Minister and that he was told that was his title when he was given the certificate after training. He further stated that the Pope approved the use of Eucharistic Ministers. And that the Bishop wants them. My reply was that the Pope got bullied into approving them to avoid major conflicts because the American Church was using them anyway. I have observed the ritual at the Altar and with the Priest walking back and forth giving the host to 6 or 8 people, then taking the chalice to the same people, then giving the plate of hosts to those distributors, then pointing out which station they should distribute at. It takes 5 to 8 minutes and half the Church could have been given the Sacrament by the Priest in that time, so no time is really saved.

Please clarify the Church teaching for me.

Jack Foley

Dear Mr. Foley,

Peace in Christ!

The Church allows laypeople to assist the priest in the distribution of Holy Communion under certain circumstances (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 903). These laypeople are properly called “Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion.” This is because the “ordinary” ministers of Holy Communion are bishops, priests, and deacons, all of whom have received the sacrament of Holy Orders.

Following the liturgical renewal of Pope St. Pius X via his decree Sacra Tridentina Synodus (1905), there was a great increase in the number of laity who receive Holy Communion on a regular basis. In the last generation, there has been a decrease in the number of ordinary ministers, i.e., bishops, priests, and deacons. In light of these changes, the Church has authorized non-ordained or “extraordinary” ministers to distribute Communion.

As noted above, the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion are bishops, priests, and deacons. Every other Eucharistic minister is extraordinary. There are two types of extraordinary ministers, in that some are acolytes. The ministry of acolyte, according to canon law, is open to lay men who have reached a specified age, and there is an installation liturgy at which the candidate receives this non-ordained ministry. Practically speaking, this ministry is usually reserved to seminarians who are preparing for priesthood. The vast majority of parishes in this country do not have formally installed acolytes.

The 1973 Instruction of the Vatican Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, Immensae Caritatis, lists the circumstances in which local bishops may permit lay persons to distribute Communion. The first of these circumstances is “whenever no priest, deacon, or acolyte is available.”

The Vatican Congregation for the Sacraments further addressed the matter in its 1980 Instruction Concerning Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery (Inaestimabile Donum):

“The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon, or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of the Mass excessively long. Accordingly, a reprehensible attitude is shown by those priests who, though present at the celebration, refrain from distributing Communion and leave this task to the laity” (no. 10).

As the two aforementioned Church documents indicate, it is also impermissible for a lay person to conduct a communion service when a priest or deacon is available, a subject the Church has addressed elsewhere:

“The local Ordinary [i.e., bishop] may give to other extraordinary ministers the faculty to give communion whenever it seems necessary for the pastoral benefit of the faithful, and when a priest, deacon, or acolyte is not available” (On Holy Communion and the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery Outside of Mass, 1973, no. 17).

The above points were reaffirmed in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments’ 2004 instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, (“On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist”):

“This function is to be understood strictly according to the name by which it is known, that is to say, that of extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and not “special minister of Holy Communion” nor “extraordinary minister of the Eucharist” nor “special minister of the Eucharist”, by which names the meaning of this function is unnecessarily and improperly broadened” (no. 156).

“If there is usually present a sufficient number of sacred ministers for the distribution of Holy Communion, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion may not be appointed. Indeed, in such circumstances, those who may have already been appointed to this ministry should not exercise it. The practice of those Priests is reprobated who, even though present at the celebration, abstain from distributing Communion and hand this function over to laypersons” (no. 157).

“Indeed, the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion may administer Communion only when the Priest and Deacon are lacking, when the Priest is prevented by weakness or advanced age or some other genuine reason, or when the number of faithful coming to Communion is so great that the very celebration of Mass would be unduly prolonged. This, however, is to be understood in such a way that a brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason” (no. 158).

“Let the diocesan Bishop give renewed consideration to the practice in recent years regarding this matter, and if circumstances call for it, let him correct it or define it more precisely. Where such extraordinary ministers are appointed in a widespread manner out of true necessity, the diocesan Bishop should issue special norms by which he determines the manner in which this function is to be carried out in accordance with the law, bearing in mind the tradition of the Church” (no. 160).

The foregoing guidelines, in some circumstances, are open to interpretation. For example, when is the congregation so large that the use of extraordinary ministers is necessary to keep Mass from being “excessively long?” In such circumstances, the decision is ultimately subject to the discretion of the pastor.

United in the Faith,