The «Catholic feminist» association Magdala has launched a campaign to ensure the presence of girls as altar servers at the Masses that Leo XIV will celebrate during his upcoming trip to France. The organization has asked Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Episcopal Conference, for an official confirmation and also encourages directing the same request to the apostolic nuncio and the bishops responsible for the celebrations.
The petition appears in an open letter published by Magdala on August 1, in view of the Masses scheduled in Paris on September 26, Lourdes on the 27th, and Metz Cathedral on the 28th. The association considers these celebrations «the perfect occasion» for the Church in France to send what it calls «a strong sign» regarding the role of women.
A direct petition to the president of the French bishops
«Our conviction is simple: nothing justifies excluding girls from altar service during Mass», states Magdala, which publicly defines itself as a «Catholic feminist association» dedicated to «defending the cause of women and advocating for an open and inclusive Church».
The organization questions the existing practice in some French parishes of differentiating between boys who serve in the sanctuary and girls who perform functions as «servers of the assembly» or «servers of Mary».
Based on its own parish map, Magdala maintains that more than half of the registered communities exclude girls from proximity to the altar. The organization contrasts this situation with practices it claims to have observed in countries such as Belgium, Germany, Spain, or India, as well as in the Vatican.
The letter describes as «symbolic violence» situations in which girls carry the offerings through the nave and then hand them over to the male altar servers so that they are the ones who approach the altar.
«Why such discrimination between boys and girls, all equal by their baptism? On what grounds? For what reasons? We do not know. We deplore it», the association states.
Magdala links the petition to the synodal agenda
The organization does not present the issue solely as a discussion about altar service. In its letter, it explicitly links the demand to the synodal process initiated during the pontificate of Francis and continued under Leo XIV.
According to Magdala, the separation between boys and girls «deeply contradicts the spirit of the synodal process» and its call for greater co-responsibility of the baptized in the Church.
The association also invokes the modification of canon 230 §1 made by Francis in 2021, through which the instituted ministries of lector and acolyte were opened to both men and women.
However, the discipline allowing girls to serve at the altar predates this. The instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum, from 2004, establishes that girls and women may be admitted to this service according to the judgment of the diocesan bishop and in accordance with established norms.
Therefore, Church legislation contemplates this possibility, but does not establish a general obligation that all parishes must have both boys and girls serving in this capacity.
A «strong sign» during Leo XIV’s visit
Magdala itself places the petition within a broader demand regarding the position of women in the Church.
«Baptismal equality is not a pious wish», the association affirms before noting that the Masses Leo XIV will preside over on September 26, 27, and 28 constitute «the perfect occasion for the Church of France to send a strong sign».
For this reason, it directly asks Cardinal Aveline to officially confirm that there will be girls among those serving at the altar during the Pontiff’s celebrations.
Magdala also warns of the consequences that, in its view, failing to address the demand would entail. It maintains that if this gesture does not occur, the French Church will have to resign itself to watching «women and girls drift away from it» without their departure being heard or taken into account.
The association has not limited itself to sending the letter to the president of the Episcopal Conference. On its website, it provides contact information and encourages its followers to support the campaign by writing to Cardinal Aveline; to the apostolic nuncio in France, Celestino Migliore; to the person responsible for organizing the papal visit, Benoît Bertrand; and to the heads of the dioceses where the celebrations will take place.
Magdala is the new name of the former Comité de la Jupe, founded by Anne Soupa and Christine Pedotti. Among its current leaders are activists and theologians who explicitly advocate for greater presence of women in the structures and responsibilities of the Church. The organization itself presents its goal as building a «more inclusive» Church.