Faith must have its physical and visual expression. The return of the altar rail is a refreshing and sublime response to a distorted vision of the Church. It reintroduces the traditional teachings of the Church with awe and wonder, delighting the worshiper and resurrecting fervor for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
In churches across the country, pastors are installing altar rails. Some parishes are bringing the rails back to old churches after they were torn out decades ago. Other parishes are adding them to new churches that never had them.
The altar rail is coming back by popular demand. It is changing the way people see the Holy Eucharist. Best of all, the move is highly popular and awaking enthusiasm among the faithful.
After the Second Vatican Council, many churches removed their altar rails, claiming it divided “the people of God” from the priest in the sanctuary. The idea was to turn the Mass into “a shared, communal worship experience.” However, it also removed the sense of the sacred that once dominated the church, and Eucharistic devotion waned.
A Catechism in Stone
The ripping out of the altar rails proved what everyone knows about church architecture and design. The church is not a neutral space. Every aspect of the church should be full of meaning and symbolism. The church is a catechism in stone that teaches people to know and love God better.
When the Blessed Sacrament is no longer treated as sacred and kept in a prominent place, people will no longer believe in the Real Presence—a finding that is reflected in surveys.
Transforming Parishes
In an excellent article in the National Catholic Register, Joseph Pronechen reports on how all this has changed with the proliferation of altar rails. The return of the rails is transforming parishes and is being enthusiastically received by Catholics of all ages, including young people who never knew them.
Catholics in the pews cite many reasons why they are attracted to these simple dividers. Parish priests are also amazed at how quickly this simple move has rekindled Eucharistic devotion.
There are six reasons why Catholics welcome the return of the altar rail.
A More Reverent Reception of the Eucharist
First, it makes the reception of the Eucharist more reverent. People appreciate the extra time at the rail to reflect upon Whom they are receiving. It creates an atmosphere of reverence where those who receive do not feel rushed. The reception becomes a brief yet intimate moment between Christ and the communicant.
When given a choice, some 90 percent of the faithful will kneel at the rail. Many who kneel at the rail also feel compelled to receive on the tongue.
A Sense of Definition and Awe
Second, the altar rail provides a sense of definition and awe. Marian Father Matthew Tomeny, rector of the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, recalled the altar rail is “seen as the extension of the altar called, sometimes, ‘the people’s altar.’ It’s that threshold between heaven and earth, heaven being the sanctuary and earth being the nave where the people are gathered.”
Third, the act of kneeling to receive Our Lord is the greatest physical expression of humility, reverence, and adoration. Expressing oneself in such a striking and different way cannot but influence how people understand the Eucharist. The body expresses the awe and wonder of the soul before such a great mystery.
Other Considerations
A fourth reason is that pastors report the rail itself is a point of beauty and symbolism that attracts people to the parish. People sense the increased devotion to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and come to the parish. Especially younger families feel drawn and wish to join parishes where the reception of Communion is more reverent. One pastor reported that the return of altar rails resulted in great spiritual growth and understanding of the meaning of the Real Presence.
Yet another reason is more practical. Some pastors report that the use of the altar rail has made it easier and quicker to distribute Holy Communion, even to the point of obviating the need for extraordinary ministers. Altar servers claim that with the sanctuary area enclosed, there are fewer distractions.
Finally, the rails serve as a place for devotion outside of Communion and Mass. The faithful find it convenient to kneel at the rail and pray before the Blessed Sacrament. The lack of the rail was a point of separation that prevented people from approaching the altar to pray. The new rails invite them to come closer for a more intimate devotion.
A Winning Proposition Rejected
The return of the altar rail should be a national model for increasing Eucharistic devotion. The success stories of parishes that have reintroduced them should inspire others to do the same.
However, not everyone is on board with such changes—even in these “synodal” times when officials are encouraged to listen to parishioners.
The ripping out of the altar rails was a deliberate move by progressive Catholics bent on “wreckovating” churches after the Council. Those who still subscribe to the progressive ideology do not hide their reasons for removing the rails, nor do they regret their decisions. They claim the move creates a more welcoming and inclusive space for everyone, regardless of background or beliefs. Their purpose was to promote a more egalitarian and theologically incorrect notion of God and the Church—and removing the Communion rail was consistent with that goal.
The tragic result was the gutting of Eucharistic devotion much more effectively than through an openly atheistic persecution of the Faith.
Faith must have its physical and visual expression. The return of the altar rail is a refreshing and sublime response to a distorted vision of the Church. It reintroduces the traditional teachings of the Church with awe and wonder, delighting the worshiper and resurrecting fervor for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
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The featured image, uploaded by Wilfredor, is a photograph of Altar-mor of the Basilica of Our Lady of Carmo, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil, taken 28 December 2016. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Tradition seems to be returning. Altar rails, young men. OTOH, recently attended a Novus ordo Mass. At least 80% of the attendees were Boomer-age women.,
As a Deacon, I can attest that one of the most important things that contribute to the lack of belief in the Real Presence in Holy Communion is the expedited manner in which Eucharist is distributed and the abbreviated time the congregation is given to connect with Jesus after having received Him. The people are rushed out after “having been fed” with precious little time to experience what is supposed to be the Source and Summit of our Faith.
Excellent point. I have always felt that way. As another poster has said, the last thing we should be thinking about when we receive the Eucharist is how quickly we must make way for the next recipient to take our place.
The altar rail as a sign of welcome, inviting the faithful to approach the altar – very interesting analysis, and almost the direct opposite of what those who wanted to remove the altar rail thought. I suppose anything that separates or demarcates can be seen as calling attention to the area it demarcates and thus serving as a beacon of welcome.
I would like to see altar rails come back. The process of standing in line cannot be sacralized. My first thought after receiving the Lord should not be “I need to move out of the way of the next person in line.” Of course we also stand in line to go the the altar rail, but not immediately before receiving the Lord.
It is beautiful process. After receiving, I can stay kneeling for as long as I like until the Priest comes back around. It is a natural, flowing, organic action that reminds me of sparrows alighting on a power line. “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3)
I see other relevant practical reasons for an altar rail. 1. It is much quicker to distrbute Holy Communion, especially with intinction. 2. There is less chance of accidents, such as a host dropped or precious blood spilled (which happens some freqency). 3. It alliviates the awkwardness of someone who chooses not to recieve. For example, wth an altar rail, anyone just gets up and finds a place at the rail. You don’t necessarily need to wait for your pew to be released by an usher, and feel compelled to walk up with everyone. For the uniatiated, it looks more chaotic, but it is more natural than the linear method.
Perhaps the lay “extraordinary ministers” could be retired also?
And about restoring the Altar to it’s proper place in the Sanctuary??
And one or two other little things…
Thank you for this. The removal of altar rails has always seemed to me to be to the first chink in the armor of protection for devotion to the Eucharist. Since Vatican II, that respect has declined to the point where even members of the hierarchy now approve its reception by those who publicly and insistently promote, in words and in action, violation of Church teaching on mortal sin (e.g., abortion, same-sex marriage, etc.).
Don’t forget the most important reason that altar rails exist! They are the “people’s altar”, so they, too, may partake of the sacrifice at the proper place — the altar.
I’m so happy to hear this!!
I was a fallen away Catholic for 52 years. I returned to my faith in 2017. I was shocked and bewildered by the changes to the Mass – people standing to receive the Eucharist in their hand and non-sacred sounding music performed by people playing guitars and drums. I thought, what is going on here?! Where is the communion rail? It all felt so lacking in reverence. My personal motto became “Bring back the communion rail”. And a lot of people feel the same way I do, praise the Lord.
Thank you for your encouraging article.
Our parish offers a means to kneel and receive Christ, which I choose to do. At this time perhaps only five or so of us do so out of the usual Mass of 200. Until MORE Catholics learn to understand the true meaning of what is happening, to assume a 90% favorable rate is pretty high. While our priest is open to educating them, most of the parishioners I feel are so used to the American cattle line, hurry up get it over, I am afraid I won’t see the return of an altar rail at my church in my lifetime.
I’m very happy to read this. I want to see the church move towards communion on the tongue. Putting the altar rails back is a great move for the church.
Thank you for this article, Mr. Horvat. This is encouraging! My family recently moved from a big city to rural New Hampshire. The “drive through” mentality of receiving as well as the “hurry up and get outta here” vibe of Holy Mass in the city always irked me.
Although there are similar “quickie mart” churches here, I’ve found a reverence at most parish churches that I haven’t seen or felt since my early childhood memories(I’m 50).
My parish has kneelers that the altar boys bring out, and I’d say at least 90% of the congregation kneels and receives on the tongue.
Recently, there has been talk of refurbishing and reinstalling the altar rail that still sits in the church basement. It has been lauded as a practical move— and from the above comments, I see many around our land agree with this sentiment.
This article is spot on. Our church, the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham, in Spring Branch, Texas has such a rail and communion is taken kneeling with the priest or deacon putting the in tinctured host into the communicant’s mouth. This rite induces reverence and respect for the host and the church in general.