In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

the term minister enjoys a variety of usages. It most commonly refers to the person, whether

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

, who is commissioned to perform some act on behalf of the Catholic Church. It is not a particular office or rank of

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, as is the case in some other Christian organisations; rather, ''minister'' may be used as a collective term for vocational or professional pastoral leaders including clergy (

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

deacons 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 churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

, priests) and non-clergy (

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

and

lay ecclesial ministers Lay ecclesial ministry is the term adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to identify the relatively new category of pastoral ministers in the Catholic Church who serve the Church but are not ordained. Lay ecclesial ministe ...

). It is also used in reference to the

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical examp ...

and

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

administration of sacraments, as part of some offices, and with reference to the exercise of the lay

apostolate An apostolate is a Christian organization "directed to serving and evangelizing the world", most often associated with the Anglican Communion or the Catholic Church. In more general usage, an apostolate is an association of persons dedicated to the ...

. ''Minister'' is not used as a form of address (e.g., Minister Jones) in the Catholic Church. Specific distinction in terminology may be found in various documents, among others: ''Participation of the Lay Faithful in the Presbyter Ministry''.

Lay ministers

The Catholic Church calls people to the responsible stewardship of their time and talent in support of the Catholic Church. This often takes the form of volunteering for a specific

lay ministry Lay ministry is a term used for ministers of faiths in Christian denominations who are not ordained in their faith tradition. Lay ministers are people who are elected by the church, full-time or part-time. They may have theological degrees and tr ...

, most of which are

catechetical Catechesis (; from Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of converts to Christianity, but as the re ...

, or involved in pastoral care and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, Equal opportunity, opportunities, and Social privilege, privileges within a society. In Western Civilization, Western and Culture of Asia, Asian cultures, the concept of social ...

. Liturgical lay ministries include

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as french: lecteur, en, lector, pl, lektor and russian: лектор. It has various specialized uses. ...

s (ministers of the Word) who proclaim

scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

(the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

) passages during the

Liturgy of the Word Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

, altar servers and

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 ...

s who assist the presider at the altar,

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

s and music ministers who lead the singing,

extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is, under the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', "an acolyte, or another of Christ's faithful deputed", in certain extraordinary circumstances, to distribute Holy Communion. The term ...

who serve during Mass and/or who take Holy Communion to the sick and homebound, and ushers or ministers of hospitality who direct the seating and procession of the assembly. Catechetical lay ministries include

catechists Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christian ...

( Sunday school teachers and teachers at Catholic schools), dismissal leaders (ministers who lead

RCIA The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), or ''Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum'', is a process developed by the Catholic Church for its catechumenate for prospective converts to the Catholic faith above the age of infant bapt ...

catechumens on Sundays), retreat leaders, youth group leaders, and Scout religious emblems counselors.

Ecclesial ministers

Some persons within the church recee the a formation, usually including graduate studies in theology or divinity, and then exercising some leadership role in the community. In common usage, when someone refers to a "minister of the church" they are referring to any one of these "professional" ministers. The Catholic Church identifies five ecclesial vocations, three of which are ordained. Theologians and lay ecclesial ministers are not necessarily ordained, while bishops, presbyters, and deacons are ordained. While only the latter are considered clergy by the Catholic Church, all are considered ''ministers'' in the professional and vocational sense.

Ministers of the sacraments

The other kind of minister in Catholic parlance is a person who administers a

sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...

, meaning that he or she is a

conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit curre ...

of sacramental

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

. This is not an office or position but instead a function that different kinds of people may perform, depending on the sacrament. There are two kinds of ministers in this sense. The ''ordinary minister'' of a sacrament, who is the standard or normal minister of that sacrament, has the spiritual power to administer it (i.e., the person's sacrament is valid), but not necessarily the

authority to administer it (i.e., a licit sacrament). Thus, a

who consecrates another bishop without pontifical mandate exercises illicitly the spiritual power to consecrate him. While bishops, priests and deacons are ordinary ministers of holy communion, only someone who has been validly ordained as a priest is a minister of the Eucharist. If a priest is, for some reason, debarred and yet celebrates the Eucharist, he does so illicitly (i.e. against

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

), but the Eucharist is still valid. However, in the case of the sacrament of Reconciliation (the

Sacrament of Penance The Sacrament of Penance (also commonly called the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession) is one of the Sacraments of the Catholic Church, seven sacraments of the Catholic Church (known in Eastern Christianity as sacred mysteries), in which ...

), although the priest is the minister, the only minister, since there are no extraordinary ministers of this sacrament, he must have been granted by the law itself or by a competent authority the faculty to celebrate this sacrament validly for the person to whom he imparts absolution. An ''extraordinary minister'' of a sacrament is someone, other than an ordinary minister, officially authorized to administer a sacrament by the law itself (as an instituted acolyte is an

extraordinary minister of holy communion An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is, under the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'', "an acolyte, or another of Christ's faithful deputed", in certain extraordinary circumstances, to distribute Holy Communion. The term " ...

) or by being deputed for this purpose. Below is a table outlining each sacrament, its ordinary ministers, and its extraordinary ministers (if any), with stipulations regarding its exercise by extraordinary ministers in parenthesis.

Instituted ministries

The offices of

(reader) and

were previously

minor orders Minor orders are ranks of church ministry. In the Catholic Church, the predominating Latin Church formerly distinguished between the major orders —priest (including bishop), deacon and subdeacon—and four minor orders—acolyte, exorcist, lec ...

; with '' Ministeria quaedam'' (1972; taking effect on 1 January 1973),

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...

abolished minor orders and the subdiaconate, creating "instituted ministries" in their stead. Since 2021, in the

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

, both men and women can become instituted lectors and acolytes, and catechist has been turned into an instituted ministry and is available for both sexes.

Instituted lector and acolyte

While the approved English translations of the liturgical books of the Catholic Church's Roman Rite use the terms "instituted acolytes" and "instituted lectors" some translations refer to them as "installed". For example, the translation on the Vatican's website of the 2019 ''

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a ...

'' '' Aperuit illis'' has "Bishops could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers". The 1984

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic ...

''Ceremonial of Bishops'', says that in ceremonies where are bishop presides it is fitting that instituted acolytes and instituted lectors carry out their functions – rather than by those who have not been instituted. The 2004 Congregation for Bishops guideline ''Apostolorum Successores'', n. 113, says: "The bishop should promote the ministries of lector and acolyte, which may be conferred upon male laypersons". A role of the instituted lector is to proclaim the readings (except the Gospel) in liturgical celebrations. The instituted lector should do this even if ministers of higher rank are present. Other lay people do these readings at Mass in "the absence of an instituted lector". In January 2021, with the ''

'' '' Spiritus Domini'', Pope Francis changed the

of the

so that both men and women could become instituted lectors and acolytes. Previously, only men were allowed to be instituted in those ministries.

Instituted catechist

In May 2021, Pope Francis created the instituted ministry of

catechist with the ''motu proprio'' '. On 23 January 2022, Pope Francis installed for the first time women as instituted lectors and

. On this day, Pope Francis held a ceremony during which he installed six women as instituted lectors, and three women as instituted catechists, along with some men.

References

{{Catholicism, state=collapsed Catholic ecclesiastical titles Catholic liturgical law