Charlotte Bishop Bans All Use of Kneelers for Communion

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Charlotte Bishop Bans All Use of Kneelers for Communion

gloria.tv | December 18, 2025

Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte, North Carolina, has banned the public use of kneelers for receiving Communion with effect from 16 January 2026.

In a letter published on CharlotteDiocese.org on 17 December, he writes that using them is 'a visible contradiction to the normative posture of Holy Communion established by our episcopal conference'.

The text begins with pious or banal quotations.

He then admits that it is the right of the faithful to kneel when receiving Holy Communion. But: "The normative posture for all the faithful in the United States is standing."

"Faithful individuals who feel compelled to kneel to receive the Eucharist, as is their right, should prayerfully consider the communal blessing that is realised when we share a common posture."

Monsignor Martin refers to the norms of the US bishops' conference which "logically" do not envisage the use of kneelers or receiving communion.

The three main points of the letter are:

1. Clergy, catechists, ministers of Holy Communion, and teachers are to instruct communicants according to the normative posture in the United States. They are not to teach that some other manner is better, preferred, more efficacious, etc.

2. The use of kneelers are not to be utilized for the reception of Communion in public celebrations by January 16, 2026.

3. Temporary or movable fixtures used for kneeling for the reception of communion are to be removed by January 16, 2026.