Immaculate Conception altar servers inducted in Guild of St. Stephen

By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

HIALEAH | For the first time, the British-founded and St. Pius X-approved Guild of St. Stephen, an organization for altar servers, has made its way to the Archdiocese of Miami.

Six altar servers from Immaculate Conception Parish in Hialeah were inducted into the guild during a special ceremony last December. The goal of the guild is to raise the standards associated with serving at Mass.

After receiving the proper permissions from Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Immaculate Conception�s pastor, Father Francisco Hernandez, welcomed the Guild to the parish.

�We pray for someone to do better in the world, for a good public figure, but we must also pray for a good and committed altar server who shows the beauty of serving the Holy Mass,� Father Hernandez said.

The parish received a special hardbound register which will be used to inscribe the names of all those who are inducted into the Guild. They are considered members for life.

Archbishop Francis Bourne of Westminster started the Guild in 1905 as a way to promote and support the "highest standards of altar serving" in the Catholic Church in Britain.

The guild has three patrons: St. Pius X, St. Thomas More and St. Stephen, the first disciple to be martyred. Upon induction, each member is presented with a certificate and a medal that is hung from a thick red cord symbolizing the martyrdom of St. Stephen.

The medal itself includes the letters "XP," for the first two letters of the name �Christ� in Greek. The top of the medal features a crown of victory, given by God to everyone who overcomes evil. At the bottom are palm branches, a traditional symbol of the martyrs who died for Christ. The edges of the medal include the Latin motto, "Cui servire regnare est" � to serve Christ is to reign.

Each server is presented with a guild prayer which he or she is encouraged to pray every day.