'Recognizing and encouraging the future of the Church'

By Emily Chaffins -

MIAMI | Siblings Kaily, Lucy, and Chris De Leon of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish began altar serving, with support from their parents, after receiving their first communion in second grade. They never looked back.

“Altar serving gave me a deeper understanding of the Mass,” said Kaily, who is now a student at Miami-Dade College. “It makes me feel a part of the church. It makes me feel fulfilled.”

Although Chris, a student at Florida International University, recently stepped down as an altar server, he continues to volunteer whenever needed. Kaily and Lucy are still active participants in their parish’s altar serving ministry.

“Altar serving with my siblings gave us a better connection,” said Lucy, a high school junior. “It’s something we have in common, even though we’re years apart in age.”

“Altar serving was a way of doing something together as a family,” added Chris. “Some see it as weird that I’m always with my siblings, because people say they can’t stand to be around their siblings. But we do everything together.”

Chris and the rest of the family were present to cheer on Kaily and Lucy as the two sisters received awards for their ongoing service during the Altar Servers Awards ceremony on April 20 at St. John Vianney College Seminary.

The event began with 10 a.m. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at St. Raphael Chapel. Afterward, the award certificates were presented, followed by refreshments in the outdoor pavilion.

A total of approximately 130 altar servers from Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties were honored during the event, with more than 10 priests and pastors attending. An estimated 600 people packed the chapel.

The event was organized by the Serra Clubs of Miami and Broward. Serra International is a worldwide, Vatican-recognized lay organization that educates Catholics on vocations to priesthood and religious life. The organization also supports priests, religious, seminarians, and those discerning their vocation as they pursue their calling. The Serra Club of Miami and the Serra Club of Broward are chapters of the organization serving the local community.

The 2024 Altar Servers Awards ceremony drew one of the largest crowds ever in the more than 30 years that the event has existed. The annual event usually falls on Good Shepherd Sunday. This year, Father Matthew Gomez, the Archdiocese of Miami vocations director and chaplain of the Serra Club of Miami, requested the awards be held on the preceding Saturday to enable greater pastor participation.

“Fr. Gomez asked if we would have Broward participate this year, so that they could do it on their own next year,” said Sharon Utterback, the president of the Serra Club of Miami. “It went so well that we won’t rule out the possibility of doing it jointly next year.”

“This is the first year the Serra Club of Broward has participated in the Altar Servers Awards ceremony in decades,” added John Yardley, the president of Serra Club of Broward. “We’re excited to partner with our friends in Miami to support altar servers.”

Peter Jude, the past-president and current treasurer of the Serra Club of Miami, highlighted the importance of the two clubs coming together. “We’re all part of the Archdiocese of Miami, and we’re stronger together.”

Yardley spoke to the purpose of the awards.

“The Altar Servers Awards recognizes and encourages the future of the church,” Yardley said. “Catholic families are our first vocation. If we have strong Catholic families, that leads to the priestly and religious vocations that the church needs.”

Fr. Gomez agrees.

“The CARA [Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate] reports every year show that the overwhelming majority of those who are ordained were once altar servers,” he said. “Through the Altar Servers Awards, we give thanks to those who are serving, and we are also encouraging vocations to priesthood and religious life.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the celebrant of the Mass, could personally attest to the CARA report statistics.

“When I was in grade school at Sacred Heart Parish in Lake Worth, Florida, I was an altar server,” he said in his homily. “Today I am a bishop and before that I was a parish priest for many years. Being close to the altar, being close to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, being near the priests, all helped me to discern my vocation.”

Archbishop Wenski highlighted some of the attributes that the honored altar servers have demonstrated.

“A good altar server… must be reverent, prompt, observant, disciplined and have a desire to take part more actively in the liturgy of the Mass,” said the archbishop. He also highlighted the virtue of humility, noting, “Being humble doesn’t mean to think less of yourselves, but to think of yourselves less. In other words, humility reminds us that our service at the altar is not about us but about others, and most importantly about Jesus.”

Vanessa Flores of San Isidro Parish, a high school junior who has been altar serving for five years, can attest to this. She said altar serving has helped her “get closer to God and to grow in prayer.”

Her fellow server, high school sophomore Edwin Cardona, had “always wanted to join the altar serving team.”

“Altar serving means dedication and developing faith,” he said, agreeing with Flores.

Flores and Cardona were supported at the event by Blanca Rivas, the coordinator of altar servers at San Isidro, and their pastor, Fr. Wilfredo Contreras.

Rivas noted, “Fr. Wilfredo created the training for altar servers and is very passionate about supporting the altar serving ministry.”

Fr. Gomez summed up the importance of encouraging altar serving.

“As altar servers in the Mass, you’re the closest to Jesus in the Eucharist without being a priest,” he said. “As the Second Eucharistic Prayer in the Mass says, altar serving is important because Jesus finds us worthy to ‘be in [his] presence and minister to [him].’ We ‘[give] thanks that [he] has held us worthy.’ That’s the bottom line.”