Requirements for Candidates for Service
- Those who desire to assist as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion must be fully initiated in the Roman Catholic Church, that is, they are to have received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
- Candidates seek to live a life in accord with the faith of the Church, including but not limited to: registered in the parish; weekly attendance at Mass; reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist; daily prayer; if married – must be in a valid marriage recognized by the Catholic Church; if divorced or single – a life marked by chastity and virtue.
- Candidates must be capable of fulfilling the physical requirements of this ministry (e.g. climbing stairs, holding vessels).
- Candidates should strive to be worthy of this great office, foster their own devotion to the Eucharist, and show an example to the rest of the faithful by their own devotion and reverence toward the most august sacrament of the altar.
- Candidates should show the greatest reverence for the Most Holy Eucharist and the faithful with whom they share the Body and the Blood of Christ by their demeanor, their attire, and the manner in which they handle the consecrated bread or wine.
- Candidates should be open to ministering at daily and weekend Masses; be willing to bring Holy Communion to the homebound and those in nursing facilities.
- Those who desire to be considered must be willing to receive proper training on a Diocesan and local parish level as well as participating in a public commissioning ceremony in the parish.
- It is the responsibility of the pastor, or his designee, to interview and recommend candidates for service as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion.
- Young people who are entering their senior year of high school may be trained for this ministry in their parish or at the Catholic high school they may be attending during the spring semester of their junior year.
- Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are commissioned to carry out this ministry within the specific context of their parish or institution (e.g. high school, college, university, nursing home, hospital, jail, prison).
- Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion fulfill their role in sacramental celebrations provided there are insufficient numbers of ordinary ministers (priest or deacon) present. (If a priest or deacon is present, it is preferred that he fulfills this role.)