For the first time, Pope Francis will formally confer the ministries of catechist, lector, and acolyte to men and women from around the world during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on Sunday, January 23.
The Pope instituted the lay ministry of catechist in May 2021, and last January opened the ministries of lector and acolyte to women, which was previously reserved for men preparing to enter the priesthood.
The ceremony will take place on the Sunday of the Word of God, which Pope Francis established in 2019 to highlight the importance of Scripture in the life of Catholics.
It will be the first time a new rite for the conferral of these lay ministries, prepared by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, will be presented.
Candidates from Peru, Brazil, Ghana, Poland, and Spain will be made catechists by the Pope, and laypeople from South Korea, Pakistan, Ghana, and Italy will become lectors.
JM
