On March 3, Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, adjunct secretary of the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith, conferred the Ministry of Acolyte on seminarian Charles Warner in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City. Charles was one of 25 seminarians receiving the ministry.

An acolyte aides the priest and deacon in liturgies, including preparing the altar and administering Holy Communion.

In the rite of the Institution of Acolyte, Archbishop Di Noia placed the paten, which contains the hosts for the celebration of Mass, in the hands of each candidate. He then said, “take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church.”

In his homily, Archbishop Di Noia preached on the Gospel passage of John 2:13-25, the Cleansing of the Temple, encouraging the seminarians to “serve the Church as Acolytes with the same zeal that Jesus himself exhibited in the cleansing of the Temple.”

Charles is in his second year of formation at the Pontifical North American College.