Installation of Lectors
Riley Williams

On January 13, 45 seminarians of the Pontifical North American College were instituted into the ministry of reader during a celebration of the Eucharist.

Riley Jameson Williams of the Diocese of Fall River, who is in his first year of theological studies, was among those seminarians instituted. Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, archbishop of Atlanta, celebrated the Mass and instituted the new lectors on the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord.

During his homily, Archbishop Gregory exhorted the seminarians saying, “As lectors you must savor the Word, taste it, relish it, and above all, come to love and appreciate it. Out of your own love for God’s Word, you must then proclaim it with zeal to all God’s people.” Handing the book of sacred Scriptures to each seminarians, he said, “Take this book of holy Scripture and be faithful in handing on the Word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people.”

The institution as lector is one of the ministerial steps leading towards diaconal and priestly ordination. As the rite indicates, a lector is charged with proclaiming the Word of God in the liturgical assembly, instructing children and adults in the faith, and preparing them to receive the sacraments worthily.

Founded in 1859, the Pontifical North American College is the American house of studies located in Rome, where hundreds of priests have been formed near the heart of the Church for service in dioceses around the United States and Australia.

The college strengthens the bonds between Rome and local churches worldwide, and it allows its students to study Christianity’s rich religious and cultural heritage at close range.