Sacristan
Sacristan
An officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers (ostiarii), later by the mansionarii and the treasurers. The Decretals of Gregory IX (lib. I, tit. xxvi, “De officio sacristæ speak of the sacristan as if he had an honourable office attached to a certain benefice, and say that his duty was to care for the sacred vessels, vestments, lights, etc. Nowadays the sacristan is elected or appointed. The “Cæremoniale episcoporum” prescribed that in cathedral and collegiate churches the sacristan should be a priest, and describes his duties in regard to the sacristy, the Blessed Eucharist, the baptismal font, the holy oils, the sacred relics, the decoration of the church for the different seasons and feasts, the preparation of what is necessary for the various ceremonies, the pregustation in pontifical Mass, the ringing of the church bells, the preservation of order in the church, and the distribution of Masses; and finally it suggests that one or two canons be appointed each year to supervise the work of the sacristan and his assistants.
The under-sacristan (custos) is also mentioned in the Decretals (lib. I, tit. xxvii, “De officio custodis”). He was the assistant of the sacristan, was subject to the archdeacon, and discharged duties very similar to those of the sacristan. Now the office is hardly ever attached to a benefice, but is usually a salaried position. The Council of Trent desired that, according to the old canons, clerics should hold such offices; but in most churches, on account of the difficulty or impossibility of obtaining clerics, laymen perform many of the duties of the sacristan and under-sacristan.
Altar Societies
There are altar societies in connection with most parish churches. The duties of members vary according to circumstances, in some instances including those which ordinarily fall within the sacristan’s province, such as the vestments and altar vessels, making ready for the priest’s Mass, and so on, but as a general thing they consist of the payment of yearly dues into a fund for the maintenance and repair of the accessories used in the ceremonies of the Church and usually also of a certain amount of labor for this purpose. Altar societies differ from tabernacle societies in that their work is for the benefit of the church to which they are attached. (See TABERNACLE SOCIETIES).
The Sodality of St. John Berchmans, known as the Pious Association of Servers of Mass and Sacristans, was founded by Vincent Basile, S.J., missionary Apostolic among the southern Slavs, for lay acolytes, choir boys, sacristans, and all who have any duty to perform in the services of the Church. Its object is to induce all its members to perform their duties piously and in a manner befitting the ceremonies in which they participate, for the glory of God and the edification of the faithful. The rules compiled by Father Basile bind the members to absolute silence in church, devout genuflexion when passing before the Blessed Sacrament, and the clear pronunciation of the words of the liturgical prayers. This same circumspection is expected to characterize their conduct even in the sacristy, and they are required to attend monthly meeting and to receive Holy Communion at least once a month. The director should be either the pastor or a priest appointed by him. Although it is not a confraternity properly so-called, this sodality was approved by Pope Pius IX, 21 Sept., 1865, and indulgences were accorded to its members, subject to the usual conditions.
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Cæremoniale episcoporum, I (Ratisbon, 1902), vi.
J.F. GOGGIN BLANCHE M. KELLY Transcribed by Bobie Jo M. Bilz
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIIICopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Sacristan
(1.) The monastic treasurer and church warden. He provided all the necessaries for divine service; was keeper of the church keys, relics, fabric, plate, furniture, and ornaments; secretary, and chancellor. He arranged the way of processions for the prsecentor, superintended the bell-ringers, and received the rents, oblations, and burial fees. At Canterbury he delivered the crosier to the new archbishop. At Ely he received the candle corn (one sheaf of corn in every acre), to supply the lights, and, as the bishop’s vicar, exercised archidiaconal jurisdiction over the city chaplains. At Peterborough his fee were the horses of a knight buried in the minster, if under four marks in value, otherwise they accrued to the abbot; and at Worcester. the abbots of Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Pershore, and Evesham gave him a cope of profession at their benediction.
(2.) Vice-custos, the vicar of the treasurer, or sub-treasurer at York in 1230. He opened the doors of the sacristy in the morning, admitted the rectors of choir and sick members who desired to say the Hours privately. He warned canons of chapter, kept the doors shut during its session, rang the bells, and led the procession. Bishop Storey mentions the use of the word sacrist in an inferior sense as recent in the 15th century. Where there was no permanent sacristan in a cathedral, a canon was appointed, called praefect of sacristy. In the Decretals of Gregory IX and at Lyons (1269) the sacrist was the inferior of the sacristan. In the new foundations he furnished the sacred elements, administered sacraments, officiated at marriages and burials, was the curate of the chapter, like the foreign parochus, and had charge of the bells, church goods, furniture, and lights. At Girgenti there are four sacrists; at Mayence he was a vicar, and at Angers a cubicular, or chamberlain, who administered the sacraments to sick canons and the choir clergy.
(3.) The sacristan at mass has charge of the vessels, and attends in a surplice at the credence table, which is placed on the south side of the altar, and arranges on it the chalice, covered with the linen cloth called the purifier; and also the paten, which is covered with a stiff cloth and a rich veil of silk; the cruets for wine and water; the Gospel and Epistle books; the ewer, basin, and water for washing the celebrant’s fingers; the corporal, or cloth on which the chalice and host are placed, and contained in a burse, or embroidered case; a crucifix, and two tapers.
(4.) A church servant, now called sexton.