San Francisco Catholic Church priest bans girls as altar servers

Jill Tucker
SF Gate
January 26, 2015

A Catholic priest, new to San Francisco and no stranger to controversy, has banned girls from acting as altar servers at Mass, a decision that sets his parish apart from all others in the archdiocese.

The Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor at Star of the Sea Church since August, said he believes there is an “intrinsic connection” between the priesthood and serving at the altar — and because women can’t be priests, it makes sense to have only altar boys.

“Maybe the most important thing is that it prepares boys to consider the priesthood,” he said.

The Richmond District parish is now the only one in the Archdiocese of San Francisco that will exclude girls from serving at the altar. Such a decision is “a pastor’s call,” said archdiocese spokesman Chris Lyford.

Decision upsets some

Still, the decision has rankled some people at the church and its school, where some, but not all, parents and students disagreed with the move, said parent Nancy Bye, who serves as liaison between the school and the parish.

“I think it is a few people,” Bye said. “I think a lot of the people who are upset are not parishioners.”

Currently, only adults assist the pastor during the church’s regular Masses. Altar boys and girls are used during the Masses held for the students at the parish’s Star of the Sea School.

Girls trained to be altar girls will be allowed to continue serving, with the use of females phased out. Illo said he wants to get an altar boy program up and running for all Masses, as part of a larger father and sons program at the church.

Male bonding

An altar boy program would be a male bonding experience, one that helps them socialize and develop their leadership potential, Illo said. Girls would still be allowed to perform readings during Mass.

Females were authorized by canon law to be altar servers about 20 years ago — or “not that long ago” in the 2,000-year tradition of the Holy Eucharist, Illo said.

This is not the first time Illo has drawn national attention to his parish. In 2008, as a Modesto priest, he said that voting for Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, required a trip to the confessional.

“Voting for a candidate who promises 'abortion rights,’ even if he promises every other good thing, is voting for abortion,” Illo wrote in a letter to parishioners. “It is a grave mistake and probably a grave sin.”

Like then, Illo was unapologetic about his stance.

“I think it’s OK for one to just have altar boys,” he said. “We're a bit more traditional here” at Star of the Sea.