Contact: Nancy Mierswa, ext. 839 nmierswa@churchofpresentation.org

Who are the sacristans?

Sacristans help our priests for the celebration the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on the weekends.

Here at Church of the Presentation, our team usually invites a number of our teens who have already “outgrown” being an Altar Server. We also are blessed with a few of our adults who volunteer to help during the weekday Mass. He/She would know the what and where of anything that has to do with Mass. They are rarely seen by parishioners; they always work “behind-the-scenes”, but our community relies heavily on them so that all our liturgies might run smoothly and well. 

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal explains, “The sacristan, who carefully arranges the liturgical books, the vestments, and other things necessary in the celebration of the Mass” (No. 105).

It is an essential service in the parish as it helps priests focus on the ministerial aspect of their priesthood. The sacristan keeps the liturgical items for Mass in order while the priest is free to visit parishioners, anoint the sick and prepare homilies.