Confraternity of Saint Stephen

In December of 2021, Bishop J Mark Spalding established the Guild of St. Stephen for altar servers at the Church of the Assumption. Our Guild is part of the Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen based at Westminster Cathedral in London - a link to the Guild website can be found here.

The Three-Fold Object of the Archconfraternity is: 

1.     ...the sanctification of the Altar-Server by teaching him that to serve in the Sanctuary is a great religious privilege, 

2.     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, 

3.     and by encouraging him to understand the meaning and the purpose of the ceremonies in which he takes part.

Following from this Three-Fold Object, the Guild engenders organization, discipline and a spirit based on the supernatural through: 

A. Adherence to its Four Rules: 

1.     To serve at the Altar reverently, intelligently and punctually. 

2.     To make the short acts of preparation before, and of thanksgiving after, serving Mass. 

3.     To observe silence in the sacristy, and great reverence in the Sanctuary. 

4.     To recite daily the Guild prayer. 

 WHO MAY JOIN THE GUILD? 

Membership of the Guild is open to any boy or man, without any limit of age, who can serve Mass, and who has shown proof of a desire to conform to the object of the Guild.

THE SYSTEM OF PROMOTION 

Through the promotion system of ranks, the server realizes how important each position is, and will regard them with greater importance and reverence.

How quickly one obtains each rank is dependent upon the personal efforts and aptitudes of each server. These ranks and their corresponding requirements are described on pages 3 and 4 in the Handbook. There are two important aspects of this promotion system: 

1. It ensures that each server is highly trained and qualified to serve the various positions as he progresses through the ranks. 

2. It shows the server how important these positions are by their ranking. 

'The Liturgy decorously done even in the humblest chapel. What is the Liturgy? It is the Church at prayer. Of its very nature it is public and social. Into it there goes the beauty of language, music and art. It is not a drama in the sense of a performance for an audience with the sanctuary for the stage. But it is a drama in which clergy and people unite to offer Christ, Our High Priest, sacrifice, praise, and supplications to God. This offering we must try to make in every detail the outpouring of the heart and mind of the Church to God. Therefore we must put into it not our personal expressions but the exact ceremonies prescribed by the Church. Even in the village church there is no excuse for slighting the Sacred Ceremonies.'--L. O’Connell’s Book of Ceremonies