Guild of St. Stephen

The Guild of St. Stephen was founded in 1904 by Father Hamilton McDonald when he formed a society of altar servers at the Convent of the Sacred Heart (now Woldingham School) in London.

[2] In 1906, the Sacred Congregation of Rites made the guild an Archconfraternity, enabling all the parish branches to be linked with it.

The purpose of the Guild of St. Stephen is "to encourage, positively and practically, the highest standards of serving at the Church's liturgy and so contribute to the whole community's participation in a more fruitful worship of God, to provide altar servers with a greater understanding of what they are doing so that they may serve with increasing reverence and prayerfulness and thereby be led to a deepening response to their vocation in life, and to unite servers of different parishes and dioceses for their mutual support and encouragement.

The motto of the Guild, "Cvi Servire Regnare Est," which means "To Serve is to Reign," is located around the edge of the front of the medal.

The Latin words "Sancti Stephani Archi Sodalitas", or "Archconfraternity of Saint Stephen," are located around the edge on the back.

A lay Central Council, consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and other elected members, assists in the running of the Guild.

Members of the Guild of St. Stephen are bound to follow various rules, including: Serving at the altar with reverence, understanding and regularity and with due attention to personal cleanliness and tidiness; Saying short prayers in preparation for and in thanksgiving after, serving Mass; Observing silence in the sacristy and great reverence in the sanctuary; Reciting the Prayer of the Guild of St. Stephen every day.