Pope to appoint women as lectors, catechists at Vatican for second time

[Stone]

As with so many of Pope Francis' decisions, the groundwork is found in Vatican II:

Vatican II's "Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People," Apostolicam Actuositatem (Nov. 18, 1965):

The lay apostolate, in all its many aspects, is exercised both in the Church and in the world. In either case different fields of apostolic action are open to the laity. We propose to mention here the chief among them: Church communities, the family, the young, the social environment, national and international spheres. Since in our days women are taking an increasingly active share in the whole life of society, it is very important that their participation in the various sectors of the Church's apostolate should likewise develop (AA §9).

† † †

Pope to appoint women as lectors, catechists at Vatican for second time
The event is possible due to Pope Francis' 2021 motu proprio, which has been described as ‘a tectonic shift both in theology and in praxis.’



Pope Francis receives the cruets from two women during Mass
Franciscus/Instagram

Jan 17, 2023
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Francis will confer the ministries of lector and catechist to women for the second time, in a Mass to be held at the Vatican this Sunday.

In a press release sent out by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Holy See Press Office announced that the conferral of the two ministries would take place on January 22, which would be this year’s “Sunday of the Word of God” – as started by Francis in 2019.

The Dicastery wrote:

During the celebration, the ministries of Lectorate and Catechist will be conferred on lay men and women, specifically three people will receive the ministry of Lectorate and seven that of Catechist.

The ten men and women come from Italy, Congo, the Philippines, Mexico and Wales, wrote the Dicastery.

LifeSiteNews has contacted the Holy See Press Office, seeking more precise information on the number of men and women who will receive each specific ministry. This report will be updated upon receipt of a response.

Sunday’s event marks the second time that Pope Francis will institute women as lectors and catechists. His first such occasion was on the same Sunday of the Word of God in 2022 when he installed six women and two men in the ministry of lector and acolyte, with three women and five men being installed as catechists.

Under Pope Francis’ groundbreaking January 2021 motu proprio Spiritus Domini, Canon Law was changed to allow the liturgical institution of female lectors and acolytes, both of which are minor orders. This was followed by the May 10 apostolic letter Antiquum ministerium, which further drew on texts from Vatican II to establish the lay ministry of catechist for both men and women.

With these moves, Francis continued the liturgical upheaval seen following the Second Vatican Council. The ministries of lector and acolyte have been traditionally reserved to men and were stepping stones on the way to the priesthood. Even though women have regularly performed such roles in recent decades, they had never been formally instituted to do so, until Francis’ papacy. [...]