Sacristans

A sacristan works in the background providing the support necessary for any celebration taking place in the church.  These forms of prayer range from the Mass to baptisms, weddings, etc. 

Please note that most sacristy duties need to be filled by an extraordinary minister because of the dictates contained in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and because for most of these areas an individual commissioned to help distribute Holy Communion is necessary:

Mass Captain and Mass Sacristan.  In addition to serving as an EM, these sacristans set the credence table with the vessels, altar linens and other items that will be used during Mass.  They also “check in” the liturgical ministers as these individuals arrive to serve.  They assist in any way they can at the special liturgies for weddings and funerals, i.e., flower arrangement, wedding candle, memorial table, etc.    Lastly, they are responsible for the purifying of the vessels used, cleaning up in the sacristy, and finally the lockup of the church.

Mass Captains and Sacristans serve at:

                      Weekend Masses

                      Daily Masses   

                      Wedding Masses

                      Funeral Masses

Baptism sacristans – These sacristans do not need to be extraordinary ministers.  These sacristans help set up the baptismal font, the baptismal table, the Easter candle, the holy oils, baptismal candles, etc.  They also assist the families as they arrive.

Church Sacristan – These sacristans must be EM’s because they rinse out the altar linen prior to sending it out for laundering.  They also changing any soiled altar linens, checking the supply of wine and hosts, and perform a general cleanup of the sacristy & church after the weekend Masses. 

Altar Linen Sacristan – These sacristans launder the altar linens.  They follow the strict guidelines contained in the Norms regarding the finishing of and folding of various items of altar linens.  These sacristans do not need to be extraordinary ministers.

The weekend and daily Mass sacristans are scheduled monthly.

If you are interested in serving as a sacristan please contact Dan Murphy, Director of Music and Liturgy for St. Gabriel’s, telephone 480-595-0883 or e-mail music@stgacc.org