Figure 1.--Here we see an altar boy wearing a black cassock and white surplice. In Italy traditionally altar boys wear black or red cassock (talare) and surplice (cotta). The photo were taken in the early 1950s in Riese, a village 50 km from Venice. Pope Pius 10th (Giuseppe Sarto) was born there. The boy is talking with the parish priest in front of the church. Click on the image to see a second photo of the boy arranging the mass book. The boy wears sandals without socks which was common in summer.

Seving as an altar boy was a common experience for boys throughout the first half of the 20th century. Boys wore black or red cassocks and white surplices. In Italy traditionally altar boys wear black or red cassock (talare) and surplice (cotta). The boys here in cassocks and albs are altar boys participating in a religious procession (figure 1). Their dress looks identical to that worn by Catholic altar boys in America. Notice that unlike the priest there is no hat or cap for the boys. I am not sure how common it is today for Italian boys to serve as altar boys. The declining role of the Church in national life has probably affected this traditional experience for boys. We auspect that many boys are no longer as interesed as they once were and their parents less inclined to encourage them. Until very recently only boys were allowed to serve. In recent years this experience has been opened to girls. I'm not sure when this happened, presumably the 1990s. We are not sure why the Church allowed this. Changing attitudes toward men and women are a factor. We suspect difficulties recruiting boys may be another factor.

The Experience

Seving as an altar boy was a common experience for boys throughout the first half of the 20th century. The Italian terms for Altar Boy are chierichetto (the popular term) or ministrante (the "technical" term).

Age

I'm not sure at what age boys became altar boys in Italy. The boy here looks to be about 10 years old. From the pgotograohs we have seen, the boys seem to be about 8-14 years of age. As far as we know there are not precise ages sey by the church. There woukld not be chosen before they did First Communion which today meabns about 7 years of age. So 8-9 is probably the youngest age. Earlier the age fir First Communiin was a klittke later. Here it is up to the priest to assess if a boy is responsible enough tyo fulfill the duies of an altar server. There is no upper limit and men can and do act as altar servers. We commonly see this in the Vatican. But it ocurs at many other churches as well. They of course woukd be servers, but not altar boys. Hopefully our Italian readers will provide more precise information.

Chronology

We have begun to collect chronological infornation about altar boys and now girls in Italy. We do not yet have much 19th century information, principally because our Italian 19th-century archive is very limited. We do have images from the 20th century. We see little change in how the boys dressed over the century. Boys in the modern age wore black or red cassocks and white surplices. In Italy traditionally altar boys wear black or red cassock (talare) and surplice (cotta). We are not sure how altar serving was affected by Fascism and the Balilla. Unlike Scouting, which was banned by the Fascists, we do not see the Church involved in the Balilla. There was a tension between the Fascists and the Church throughout the Fascist era, but the Facists never wnt after the Church in the same way that the NAZIs did in Germany. Nor do we know how this was affected by the growth of the Communist Party after World War II. As far as we can tell, the Church had no trouble recruiting altar boys, although this may have varied over time or in areas where the Fasists or Communists were particularly strong. Hopefully our Italian reades can tell us more. The biggest threat to finding altar servers may be the increasing secularzation of Italian society. This was somewhat offset at the end of the 20th-century by the appearance of altar girls for the first time. There is still some resistabnce from conservative elements in the Church, but the trend to allow girls to serve is clear. And the need to find interested children also supports this chasnge in Church policy.

Costume

I am not sure how the costume of altar boys has varied over time. Boys in the modern age wore black or red cassocks and white surplices. In Italy traditionally altar boys wear black or red cassock (talare) and surplice (cotta). The boys on the previous page in cassocks and albs are altar boys participating in a religious procession. Here we see an altar boy wearing a black cassock and white surplice (figure 1). Their dress looks identical to that worn by Catholic altar boys in America. Notice that unlike the priest there is no hat or cap for the boys. An Italian reader tells us, "I remember reading about an altar boy in the 1930s. He lived in Staggia, a village near Florence. He tells that as a boy he went always barefoot in summer. The shoes were only for Sunday and festivity days. In that time there was not the Mass in the afternoon, but the people prayed Rosary and than the priest gave the blessing. He often was in church in the afternoon without footwear, but he also served as altar boy. Some 'devote woman' reproached him for his bare feet, but the parish priest allowed him to serve." This a boy's feet are all that showed under the altar boy outfit, it is the only modern bit of fashion destinguishing the boys over time.

Modern Italy

I am not sure how common it is today for Italian boys to serve as altar boys. The declining role of the Church in national life has probably affected this traditional experience for boys. We auspect that many boys are no longer as interesed as they once were and their parents less inclined to encourage them. Until very recently only boys were allowed to serve.

Girls

The term 'altar boy' is becoming increasingly dated. Now the non-gender based term altar server is more accurate. In recent years this experience has been opened to girls. We are not sure when this happened. An Italian reader tells us that it first occurred in a few churches (1970s). Girlls dis not begin serving in appreciable numbers until later (1990s). Some conservative churches still do not permit it. Basically the Vatican has allowed each local church to decide. We are not sure why the Church allowed this. Changing attitudes toward men and women are surely a factor. Presumably they did not want a major fight on the issue which would only damage the Church among women who were in fact a main stay of the faithfull. They were already involved in the contentious opriesthood issue and may have decided a fight about altar servers was just not worth it. Leaving it up to he local churches seems a non-contentious way of dealing with the issue. We suspect difficulties recruiting boys may be another factor as Italy is becoming increasingkly secular. Today altar girls are very common in Italy. That was not the case 30 years ago. The Italian term for red striped robe is 'tarcisiana'. Is a vestment worn by altar boys and altar girls. Altar boys wear also cassocks and surplices, but in Italy usually altar girls wear only "tarcisiana". The white robes are albs, as those worn by priests. Older altar servers, that can't wear tarcisiana (to small), wear albs.

Personal Experiences

An Italian reader tells us, "I was altar boy in late 1960s and early 1970s. I lived in a big village near Milan. We wore a red cassock and surplice. When I was older I wore a white smock with two red stripes (tarcisiana). When I was altar boy there were only altar boys, but today there are also altar girls. I began to serve as an altar boy when I was 8 years old. In my village many children served as altar boys, but there were many other that never served. I can tell that I enjoyed the experiece. We had to serve the Mass on Sunday and we had also wedding ceremonies and funerals. We were told that this was an important service to the congregation and mostly we accepted it. Often in summer time I served Mass every day. In this case I went to church in my everyday clothing: shorts, t-shirt, plimsolls or sandals usually without socks (on Sunday we had to wear better clothing and rarely I was allowed to go without socks, which I didn't like). But us altar boys were also a group of friends and we often played together. I think that today the situation is varied in different places. In small rural villages is still very common for boys and girls serve Mass. The situation is different in the towns. I think that there is a also difference between the north and south in Italy. In southern Italy the Church attendance is higher too. A difference between the time of my experience and now is the length of time we served. I started when I was 8 and I continued until I was 14 years old. Today children rarely continue after they are 12."

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Created: 2:11 PM 2/28/2005
Last updated: 7:15 PM 7/3/2013