altar server
noun
: a lay person (typically a child or adolescent) who assists the celebrant in a liturgical service
Examples of altar server in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Originally from Venezuela, he’s lived in the neighborhood with his family for a decade and often serves as sacristan and altar server.
—
The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 July 2023
The 11-year-old boy was an altar server at St. John Vianney in west suburban Northlake during the early 1960s, when a popular priest began inviting him out to dinner, drive-in movies and even sleepovers at the rectory.
—Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2023
Three victims contacted the attorney general’s investigators, including one who described being singled out by Father Kelly as an 11-year-old altar server.
—Ruth Graham, New York Times, 23 May 2023
The basilica's doors opened before dawn on Tuesday and among those paying respects was 6-year-old Miriam Groppelli, who is an altar server in her parish in Milan.
—Giada Zampano, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Jan. 2023
Lily Henry is an altar server, lector and teacher in the parish faith formation classes.
—cleveland, 30 Sep. 2022
Pope Francis stressed that the roles of reader and altar server are lay ministries and thus don’t require ministers to be ordained as clergy.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2021
The vigil, which is normally attended by roughly 10,000 people in the packed St. Peter's Basilica, was attended by only about two dozen, including a few altar servers and a smaller-than-usual choir.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2020
Someone who grew up as an altar server, volunteers for their church charity, and has witnessed dozens of weddings and funerals of friends and family might not be overly interested in whether God is the best explanation for the value of the mass of the electron.
—Sean Carroll, Discover Magazine, 21 Mar. 2011
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The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 July 2023
The 11-year-old boy was an altar server at St. John Vianney in west suburban Northlake during the early 1960s, when a popular priest began inviting him out to dinner, drive-in movies and even sleepovers at the rectory.
—Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2023
Three victims contacted the attorney general’s investigators, including one who described being singled out by Father Kelly as an 11-year-old altar server.
—Ruth Graham, New York Times, 23 May 2023
The basilica's doors opened before dawn on Tuesday and among those paying respects was 6-year-old Miriam Groppelli, who is an altar server in her parish in Milan.
—Giada Zampano, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Jan. 2023
Lily Henry is an altar server, lector and teacher in the parish faith formation classes.
—cleveland, 30 Sep. 2022
Pope Francis stressed that the roles of reader and altar server are lay ministries and thus don’t require ministers to be ordained as clergy.
—Francis X. Rocca, WSJ, 11 Jan. 2021
The vigil, which is normally attended by roughly 10,000 people in the packed St. Peter's Basilica, was attended by only about two dozen, including a few altar servers and a smaller-than-usual choir.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2020
Someone who grew up as an altar server, volunteers for their church charity, and has witnessed dozens of weddings and funerals of friends and family might not be overly interested in whether God is the best explanation for the value of the mass of the electron.
—Sean Carroll, Discover Magazine, 21 Mar. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Altar server.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altar%20server. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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