The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has published a press release summarising its response to Bishop Heiner Wilmer, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, who made a request asking the dicastery to allow, “in exceptional circumstances,” a “duly commissioned lay member of the faithful” to preach during Mass.
Letter from Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
In a letter dated 17 June 2026 addressed to the President of the German
Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Dr Heiner Wilmer SCJ, the Dicastery for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments has communicated that it is not
possible to grant the indult requested on 30 March 2026 to permit, in
exceptional circumstances, a duly commissioned lay member of the faithful to
preach in place of the homily during the celebration of the Eucharist.
While expressing appreciation for the pastoral concerns that inspired the
request, the Dicastery reaffirms that the current discipline cannot be dispensed
from by means of an indult, since the reservation of the homily to a priest or
deacon is not a merely disciplinary norm but derives from the very nature of
the liturgy.
The homily forms an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word, is intrinsically
linked to the proclamation of the Gospel, and constitutes an exercise of the
munus docendi entrusted to ordained ministers through the Sacrament of Holy
Orders.
The proclamation of the Word within the liturgical celebration is
inseparable from the mission received sacramentally and from the unity that
binds together Word and Sacrament in the Eucharistic celebration.
The letter also emphasises the importance of promoting the ongoing
formation of ordained ministers so that the homily may fully express its pastoral
and spiritual effectiveness.
Finally, the Dicastery recalls that the Church’s current discipline already
provides for numerous forms of proclaiming the Word and preaching that may
be entrusted to lay members of the faithful outside the homily and outside the
celebration of the Eucharist, in accordance with canon law and the proper
nature of these different forms of proclaiming the Gospel.
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