ROME, Italy — On Sunday, March 7, 55 seminarians of the Pontifical North American College in Rome were installed as acolytes during a celebration of the Eucharist. Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ark., the principal celebrant of the liturgy, instituted the seminarians including Mark W. Miller of the Diocese of Madison, who is in his second year of theological studies.
These seminarians have now received both the ministry of lector and acolyte in anticipation of their diaconal, and then priestly, ordination. Archbishop Rodi reminded the acolytes of the contemporary challenges to faith, as well as the central role of personal witness and authenticity in the exercise of priestly ministry. He encouraged them to take up the challenge “to bring Christ to others and others to Christ.”
The ritual for the installation of acolytes includes the prayer: “Take this vessel of bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your lives worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church.”
Founded in 1859, the Pontifical North American College in Rome serves as the American house of studies in Rome, where hundreds of priests have been formed near the heart of the Church for service in dioceses around the United States and Australia.