Welcome | Resources for liturgy | Liturgical ministries
About the Extraordinary Ministry of Holy Communion of the Sick
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion of the Sick fulfil an important role of pastoral care to those who cannot come to Mass, taking Holy Communion to the sick and housebound. In addition to the responsibility of safeguarding and ministering Communion, they share the Scriptures with those they serve, and maintain a powerful and crucial connection between the sick and housebound and the parish community. They provide a broader sense of social connection with people whose illness or particular needs often result in them becoming lonely or isolated.
Some people may only be sick or housebound for a short time, and so do not need the assistance of a minister on an ongoing basis. In such cases, a member of the person’s family (with the approval, formation and support of the parish priest) may volunteer to fulfil this role. In other cases, parish ministers support the priests of the parish in serving the sick and housebound of the community as a regular ministry. The hospital chaplaincies administered by the Diocese also draw on the support of extraordinary ministers, who serve those in hospital on a rostered basis.
Good Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion of the Sick need to have a love and reverence for the Eucharist and a desire to help and spend time people who are sick or housebound. They need to have a means of travel in order to visit those they are serving. It is also important that they maintain communication with the priests of the parish, so that they can also ensure effective pastoral care to those being served.
Resources for Ministers
Guiding principles
Guiding Principles for Bringing Communion to the Sick and Housebound
Prepared by the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Toowoomba, these principles (drawn from the Church’s official rites for Pastoral Care of the Sick) are recommended for those serving in this ministry in the parish of Wentworthville.
Parish resources
Ministers’ Guides
Provides an outline of the rite, plus the text of the Sunday gospel reading. These guides are designed to be accessed by ministers sent forth from Sunday Mass to take communion to the sick.
Each guide is available in digital form (for viewing on a mobile device), or pdf (for downloading and printing), depending on the user’s preference.
Other resources
National Liturgical Council
Documents of the Church
Instruction on Facilitating Sacramental Eucharistic Communion in Particular Circumstances (including instructions on the place and role of the Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion of the Sick). Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, 1973.
Instruction on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist. Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 2004.
Liturgy 