Three-thousand altar boys to the Pope

Some ten thousand altar servers from across Europe and other non-European countries will take part in the eleventh international pilgrimage to Rome organized by CIM, Coetus Internationalis Ministrantium, an association that offers coordination and pastoral guidelines for youths and adults that offer altar service. The pilgrimage will feature fraternal sharing and pathways of understanding with Rome’s parish communities, in addition to an intense moment of prayer with Pope Francis. Massimo Lavena has interviewed for SIR Europe Elisabeth Greil, coordinator of the pilgrimage for the Austrian diocese of Linz. Across all Austrian dioceses, altar service is traditionally deeply felt and attended.After 5 years altar boys and girls will be arriving from all over the world. What is the meaning of this pilgrimage for young girls and boys doing altar service? “For altar servers this pilgrimage is a unique event, a strong boost to faith and a strong motivation to their service, which they carry out with great enthusiasm and dedication. Sometimes their peers fail to understand their commitment for the Church, but they confront the faith more than other youths and children do. During this special event they will be meeting many young people involved in the parishes and will have the opportunity of meeting with Pope Francis, the major faith witness, whom they follow and know. It is laudable that the Holy Father has taken some time to meet the altar servers and to pray with them, it’s a recognition of their service.” There will be more ten thousand, with a large delegation from Austria, almost 3200 people. Why is the altar boy tradition so popular in Austria? “The Katholische Jungschar is the youth organization of the Austrian Catholic Church that also coordinates the pastoral care of altar boys. The purpose is to introduce children, youths and young adults to the liturgical service and to support them and accompany them in their personal journey of faith and life. For this reason the pastoral care of altar servers provides liturgical as well as pedagogical formation and time for enjoyment. In this way they experience being part of a community, cohesion, and the joy of being Christian. Altar servers are an important, active part of our parish communities and of the liturgy, and they are aware of it. The pastoral care organized for them by Katholische Jungschar provides a platform to discover and develop their faith inside the community through leisure activity. This leads to their mutual growth, learning from one another and from their team leaders – volunteers and paid workers – what it means to be Christian today and follow the example of Jesus. Moreover, they are an important part of the parish community and in this way they develop their self-esteem, strengthen self-awareness and learn to feel at home inside the Church and in the liturgy.”In Rome you will be present in many parishes and a church will always be open for you. How do you plan to spend your time?  “Our 3140 altar servers will have a rich, varied programme, and they certainly will have the opportunity to meet with other groups. But we must also leave room for the Holy Spirit. Our youths and young adults will meet several times in the city centre and in suburban areas. They will be recognizable by their foulard. For example, five years ago the altar servers in Linz met at the metro a group of peers from another Country and suddenly they all started to sing a pilgrimage song. By singing they overcame language barriers and there was true sharing. There is also a planned event, that is, the prayer with Pope Francis on August 4th that will provide the opportunity to get in touch with others before the planned activities begin.”  What does the meeting with the Pope mean to the Austrian pilgrims? “For altar servers the possibility of meeting the Pope is an important event and for many it represents the main reason for the pilgrimage. For them the Pope is an important personality, ‘great’ as much as Lionel Messi or a pop music star. Moreover, Pope Francis manages to touch and reach out to the sense of justice of the youths. It’s essential to them. They will bring home with them an enormous enrichment for having prayed with so many people, the memory of having met Pope Francis and a great confirmation and motivation for their service as altar servers and for their faith.”