An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is, under the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', "an

acolyte An acolyte is an assistant or follower assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession. In many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone performing ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In others, the term is used f ...

, or another of Christ's faithful deputed", in certain extraordinary circumstances, to distribute

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. The term "extraordinary" distinguishes such a person from the ordinary minister of Holy Communion, namely a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

. Under ordinary circumstances, only bishops, priests, and deacons may distribute Communion in the Catholic Church. Similarly, only bishops and priests may administer the Sacrament of Anointing of the sick. The 1983 code permits that " ere the needs of the Church require and ministers are not available, lay people, even though they are not lectors or acolytes, can supply certain of their functions, that is, exercise the ministry of the word, preside over liturgical prayers, confer baptism and distribute Holy Communion, in accordance with the provisions of the law." The term "lay people" does not distinguish between men and women.

Function

The extraordinary minister's function is to distribute Holy Communion, either within

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

or by taking it to a sick person, when an ordained minister (bishop, priest or deacon) is absent or impeded. In order to avoid confusion about this function, an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion is not to be called a "special minister of Holy Communion", nor an "extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist", nor a "special minister of the Eucharist". Ten years before publication of the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', some of these expressions were used in the instruction of the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments ''Immensae caritatis'' of 29 January 1973. They are now reprobated. The only minister of the Eucharist (that is, someone able to confect the Eucharistic species with bread and wine) is a priest or bishop.

Appointment

An instituted acolyte is an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion by virtue of his institution. Such acolytes are, in practice, seminarians or former seminarians, or those in deacon formation, although canon law allows the ministry to be conferred on any lay people, men or women, who have the age and qualifications that the episcopal conference is to lay down. The local bishop, pastor, or priest celebrant may depute other lay Catholics for the temporary function of extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, either for a single occasion or for a specified period of time, if there are reasons of real necessity. The commissioning need not take a

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

form, but an appropriate blessing, which should in no way resemble ordination, may be imparted. In special cases of an unforeseen nature, the priest celebrating Mass may grant permission for a single occasion.''Redemptionis sacramentum'', 155

Controversy

'' Redemptionis sacramentum'' states: "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." The document adds: "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. .. brief prolongation, considering the circumstances and culture of the place, is not at all a sufficient reason". For a time, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion in the United States were allowed to purify the Communion vessels (such as ciboria and

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

s), an action that the 2010 ''

General Instruction of the Roman Missal The ''General Instruction of the Roman Missal'' (GIRM)—in the Latin original, (IGMR)—is the detailed document governing the celebration of Mass of the Roman Rite in what since 1969 is its normal form. Originally published in 1969 as a separa ...

'' expressly reserves for priest, deacon and instituted acolyte. The special

indult In Catholic canon law, an indult is a permission or privilege, granted by the competent church authority – the Holy See or the diocesan bishop, as the case may be – for an exception from a particular norm of church law in an individual case ...

authorizing that practice for three years, beginning in 2002, was not renewed. Due to large number of attendees, virtually all Masses in the Philippines employ the use of extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion; commissioning of ministers and renewal of their vows is a regular occurrence. In early 2023, claims regarding

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

s distributing Holy Communion in some parishes prompted the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (abbreviated as CBCP) is the permanent organizational assembly of the Catholic bishops of the Philippines exercising together certain pastoral offices for the Christian faithful of their terr ...

to restate its stance on "the unacceptability of Masonry, given its serious errors".

References

Works cited

* {{Authority control Eucharist in the Catholic Church Catholic ecclesiastical titles