St. Augustine of Canterbury RC Church


St. Augustines Home
Altar Servers Home
A) Pre-Mass Duties
B) Procession
C) Liturgy of the Word
D) Offertory
E) Receiving the Gifts
F) Preparation of the Gifts
G) Consecration
H) Sign of Peace and Communion
I) Cleanup and Exit

For simplicity and to help servers memorize their jobs in the correct order I have broken the mass down into 8 unofficial parts. Each section outlines what each of the 3 altar servers will be doing during the mass.

Part 1: The Procession

When in the east vestibule the Captain is to take a quick check over his/her shoulder and ensure that everyone (his 2 fellow servers, the lector and most importantly the Priest) are still behind him and ready to go. The Captain then enters into the church and pauses. When he/she hears the first word of the opening song they are to begin processing up the east aisle.

Server1 and Server 2 follow the Captain down the east aisle carrying their processional candles. Server 1 and Server 2 begin in single file but as they make the turn and begin heading south towards the altar they begin walking side by side. The captain walks down the middle of the aisle. The server who is directly behind the captain before they make the turn heading south towards the altar takes the west half of the aisle and the final server takes the east half of the aisle.

As the servers are leaving the east vestibule and entering into the church no server needs to dip their finger in the holy water font as they should be using 2 hands to carry either their processional cross or processional candle.

When the Captain gets to the front of the church he/she swivels the cross in his/her hands so that Jesus on the crucifix remains facing the congregation as he/she climbs the sanctuary steps. The Captain quietly inserts the processional cross in its slot and goes and stands to the right of the 2 candle bearers.

Server 1 and Server 2 follow the Captain up the sanctuary steps and place their candles in front of the ambo. They should ensure that there is enough room for the money chest to fit in between their candles and that the candles are not to close to the ambo because they might burn the wood. After setting their candles down in front of the ambo Server 1 and Server 2 should turn around (careful that their hair or the hood from their alb is not making contact with the flame which is directly behind them) and put their hands in the altar server position. Fingers crossed directly above the belly button.

When Father kisses the altar all 3 servers (lead by the Captain) go in front of the altar and bow at the waist before heading to their seats on the eastern side of the church. The Captain sits in the middle with Server 1 on his/her left and Server 2 on his/her right.