Robert Purcell
obert Purcell started to altar serve in 1969, shortly after he received his First Holy Communion. It was also the year that he was enrolled to the Guild of St Stephen. Over the years, he has performed faithful and consistent ministry in Bishop’s Stortford, as well as various places including St Mary’s Prep School and Stonyhurst College in Lancashire (1973-81), The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Harare, Zimbabwe (1986-91) and South Africa (1991-2000).
On 12 March 2023, Robert was presented with a Gold Medal of the Guild of St Stephen to acknowledge his more than 50 years of dedicated to the Church. The presentation coincided with the celebration of the 90th anniversary of our parish affiliation with the Guild. Here, Fr Antonio asks him a few questions about his eventful ministry.
Fr Antonio: When did you start altar serving and what inspired you to take on this ministry?
Robert: Although my very first time on the altar at St Joseph’s was when I was five, I started being an “official altar server” following my first Holy Communion. At that time, I was at St Joseph’s Primary School and we had a wonderful priest called Fr Hanton, as well a great headmistress – Sr Finbarr. Both inspired me to see serving as a way to assist the priest at Mass while praising God through practical help on the altar. As I became older, and went to school in Lancashire, I was taught by two Jesuit priests who encouraged and helped me, as a young teenager, to understand the joy and importance of what I was learning to do. Their support, training and advice prepared me for serving the Church both in my college days, married life and while working abroad for many years.
Fr Antonio: What are some of the things you have gained from altar serving? Has it helped you grow spiritually, for example?
Robert: I have learnt and gained most from the example of others: initially from my fellow altar servers trying to get me to sit still (!) in my early days, to learning to be attentive and to pray. I was at the start of my journey in the late 1960s/early 1970s when Mr Ives was the Senior Altar Server at St Joseph’s and although he seemed quite scary at the time he always had the best interests of the servers and the Church at heart. Nowadays, we’re not nearly so scary! One of my most important memories though was when an elderly priest, unfortunately, dropped a host during the distribution of Communion. Despite his age and severe arthritis he insisted, after consuming the dropped host, on cleaning the area with Holy Water. His humility and physical pain in performing this task by himself showed me his deep reverence for the Body of Christ and I have taken that with me all through my life and especially as a Eucharistic Minister.
Fr Antonio: You have experienced serving the Church in various ways (in addition to altar serving) and in different places. What have been the challenges and joys of this?
Robert: Fortunately, I’ve had the opportunity to work abroad for many years. Often the challenge of starting a new life in a new country is to make friends and become involved with the local community. The Church has always provided the infrastructure to enable this. Getting involved in various ministries (reading, altar serving, Eucharistic ministry) has introduced me to a broad range of people who have their own networks. It’s been a real joy to absorb other cultures while also practising my Catholic faith. Of course, there are challenges too – there are different customs and ways of doing things that I’ve had to learn and adjust to. My wife, family and I have developed life-long friendships in Southern Africa, where we were based, which we continue to value.
Fr Antonio: What would you tell young people today about altar serving who have never thought of altar serving? How would you attract them to the ministry?
Robert: It can always be difficult for a young person to stand up in front of school friends and be seen on the altar, serving. However, God is calling each of us to serve him more closely in whatever way we can. The ministry of altar serving provides a safe environment for young people to assist our priests and to serve Jesus together with fellow members of the Church who are there to help and offer training. Altar Serving must be seen as a joy and not a burden and it is our job as the older members of the Church to create a reverent, fun and very welcoming environment of support. We also need the assistance of our Catholic schools and our parents to promote this great act of service.
Fr Antonio: Most servers stop serving once they move away from home (e.g., when they go to university). What is it that has encouraged you to keep serving for more than fifty years?
Robert: For me, the Church creates a sense of belonging — and it has done so throughout my whole life. I was baptised, had my first Holy Communion and was married at St Joseph’s. Our children, and now our grandchildren, have been and are part of this community. I believe that with this sense of belonging, comes the willingness and desire to continue serving in any way that’s useful. Finally, that sense of belonging and contribution leads in my experience to a sense of thriving. Those three words: belonging, contributing, thriving are often used by the YMCA in their work (together with mind, body and spirit) and have always been true for me and imprinted on my brain! I hope that my service can continue for as long as I can be useful.
Fr Antonio: Many people associate the ministry of altar serving with the young. What do you think the ministry can offer to older servers?
Robert: I believe it can offer a sense of being a true and useful part of the Church community. Sometimes as we become more mature, there can be a sense of “what can I do now?”. Assisting at the altar is something that you can enjoy, while also being a role model for those younger members of the congregation. We can offer the comradery of serving together, learning new aspects of our faith and having that great sense of being part of something much bigger. Looking forward, we would specifically like to attract men and women in their 40s and 50s. It always seems very rare to attract this age range!
Fr Antonio: What are your hopes for the ministry in the future?
Robert: I look forward to having altar servers at every Mass. Let’s enable these altar servers to have lots of fun and a good knowledge of their duties built up through regular training. Also, that through excellent older male and female role models they will develop a sense of reverence and love for the Mass, and the Church, in which they can play an important part.
I pray that ultimately altar serving can lead young people to a stronger devotion to Catholic life in the community and vocations for the Church.