Altar servers from across France made a Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome this week and received a powerful message of encouragement from Pope Leo XIV. Meeting with nearly 360 young Catholics, along with their priests and bishops, the Holy Father emphasized both the dignity of their service at the altar and the deeper mystery into which it draws the faithful.
According to Vatican News, the Pope invited the young people to take advantage of their pilgrimage through the Holy Doors as a chance to “turn toward God and grow in faith and love so that they may be more faithful disciples of Christ” (Vatican News). He urged them to spend time in quiet prayer, reminding them that “He desires nothing more than to be part of your life, to illumine it from within, to become your best and most faithful friend. Life becomes beautiful and joyful with Jesus.”
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The Pope tied their vocation as altar servers to the central focus of the Jubilee: hope. In a world marked by war, suffering, and uncertainty, he called on them to cling to the certainty of Christ’s love. “There is certain proof that Jesus loves us and saves us: He gave His life for us by offering it on the cross. In fact, there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for those one loves,” he said (Vatican News).
Highlighting the centrality of the Eucharist, Pope Leo reminded the altar servers that their ministry is not merely functional but deeply spiritual. “Dear Altar Servers, the celebration of the Mass saves us today! It saves the world today! It is the most important event in the life of the Christian and in the life of the Church, for it is the encounter where God gives Himself to us in love, again and again” (Vatican News).
The Pope expressed gratitude for their dedication, noting that their gestures, silence, and reverence help others encounter the sacred. “May your attitude, your silence, the dignity of your service, the liturgical beauty, the order and majesty of your gestures, lead the faithful into the sacred greatness of the Mystery,” he told them.
Pope Leo XIV also used the occasion to address a pressing challenge in the French Church: the decline in priestly vocations. He called the shortage of priests in France “a great misfortune” and encouraged altar servers to remain open to the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood or religious life (Vatican News).
In closing, the Pope reminded the young pilgrims that their ministry itself is a sign of hope for the Church. Serving faithfully at the altar, he said, allows them to bear witness to “the pride and joy that comes from serving at Mass” and to persevere in offering that joy as a gift to the world.
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