In recent years the Church has established the Ministry of Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
Inaestimabile Donum states: “The faithful, whether religious or lay, who are authorized as extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist can distribute Communion only when there is no priest, deacon or acolyte, when the priest is impeded by illness or advanced age, or when the number of the faithful going to Communion is so large as to make the celebration of the Mass excessively long.”
Our Eucharistic Ministry consists of a group of men and women who assist the priests in the distribution of Holy Communion at Sunday Masses and certain scheduled weekday Masses. Some Extraordinary Ministers also visit our homebound parishioners during the week where they conduct a prayer service and distribute Holy Communion to our brothers and sisters bringing them spiritual comfort.
It is a great privilege to distribute the Body and Blood of Christ to the members of the congregation. There are some requirements* that must be met in order to become a minister of the Eucharist. There will be an instruction class at which attendance is mandatory. Volunteers serve with other ministers by selecting the Mass days and times they are willing to serve and will be scheduled, in advance, on a rotating basis through the Ministry Scheduler Pro app. The app allows users to request substitutes in the event they are unable to serve a scheduled time and to also preset days and times not to be scheduled.