Sacristies are privileged places where liturgical rites are prepared, where the treasured objects and sacred vessels are stored.  Predating Christianity, the Old Testament bible makes reference to side chambers at the Jerusalem Temple.  Sites now identified as early Churches throughout the Mediterranean Basin show there were auxiliary rooms not unlike our present sacristies.  In the early Christian centuries, prior to the legalization of Christianity in 313 by the Emperor Constantine, church buildings were closed by the government.  Possessions, according to official court documents, confiscated from these “sacristies” included chalices, patens, candles and crosses, but they also tell how Church’s ministers took scriptural books from sacristies and hid them.  Every Christian assembly dating back to the first century had some equivalent of a sacristan, the one who is charged with overseeing the sacristy and preparing for the liturgy.

Through all the centuries, every local Church entrusted its keys to that dedicated minister called sacristan.  Sacristans were listed by writers, St. Jerome for one, and by Church councils as “ministers of God”  while taking great care to stress the holy nature of the work of sacristans.  St. Isidore (7^th Century) described the ministry as the care of security, access, vestments, sacred vessels, oil, candles, etc…Before Christians ever began to use Tabernacles in the main worship space, the Eucharist was reserved in the sacristy.

Through the shifting forms of Rites and Church documents and guidelines over the centuries, sacristans have always responded to the changing needs of the Church.  In the 11^th century a man named Guy became sacristan in a Church in the district of Brussels.  His zeal for the care of the place of worship was so great that he was memorialized as a saint and as patron of sacristans.  In the remarkable legends about him we know little about his humble life, but a great deal about the esteem with which sacristans continue to be held.

To capture a similar sense of  the title of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s book It Takes A Village we could rightly say it takes a parish to prepare for and carry out any liturgy.  We need dedicated men and women as volunteer sacristans for the Cathedral parish.  We need regular communicants who sing with gusto and throw themselves into the liturgical actions.  From such regular participation, they should be attuned to the flow of liturgical seasons and rites.  What they do not know in the area of vocabulary and sacristy practice, they should be able to learn.  Some of a volunteer sacristan’s work can be done behind the scenes such as the polishing of the sacred vessels,  washing and ironing the altar linens, or changing out the votive candles  Under the direction and supervision of the Coordinator of Liturgy, Paulette Purvis, in-service training is offered as well as formal instruction offered through the Diocesan Office of Worship in the form of workshops on the liturgy. 

“For these sacristans, that the preparations they make for the celebration of the liturgy may remind us to prepare our hearts for worship. “  This petition from the Book of Blessings, Ch. 62 captures the essence of sacristy work.

If you are interested in volunteering your time as a sacristan of a daily or weekend Mass, as sacristan for weddings, to wash/iron linens, or other tasks please contact Paulette Purvis, Coordinator of Liturgy, 347-9702.