Age No Impediment to Serving Before the Altar

A local parishioner approached the Archdiocese of Milwaukee earlier this summer with a curious question — who is the oldest altar server in the archdiocese?

With nearly 200 parishes spread across 10 counties in southeast Wisconsin, this is not an easy question to answer. However, Mark Koslow, a 78-year-old altar server at St. Eugene in Fox Point, thinks it might be himself. He argues he is the oldest altar server in the archdiocese and he’s challenging anyone to come forward to prove him wrong.

Koslow calls himself a “vintage server,” preferring the light-hearted term to “senior servers.” He’s served in rotation for Saturday evening Mass at St. Eugene in Fox Point since November 2022, when he moved to Bayside. His wife, Susan, is also an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, and he has served as a lectionary reader in the past.

Mark Koslow hopes to encourage more people his age to follow in his footsteps and volunteer as vintage servers.

“I decided to throw out a challenge to see if we can find a vintage server older than me,” he said. “It won’t surprise me if there is, but that’s the whole point, to find out if there is somebody and to encourage others in the vintage realm but not serving to consider doing so. It’s nice to have a little fun. I encourage other people who might be hanging back at their parish to become vintage servers. I’m never going to become a deacon, but I do what I feel comfortable doing. I used to do lectionary readings, and I might do it again, too.”

The altar server plays an important role, assisting the priest in all aspects of the liturgy. They will carry the cross and candles during the procession, bring items to the altar during the preparation of the gifts and remove them after Communion, hold the Roman Missal for the priest when he is at the presider’s chair, assist in the lavabo (hand washing) and more.

“I started off being an altar server in second grade, certainly before most of your parents and grandparents were born, in 1953. I served until I was 18, when we moved from Noblesville, Indiana. When we were living there, our local parish’s pastor was having trouble getting enough servers, particularly for Saturday night masses. A friend of mine worked with him closely and said he was looking for senior servers. We termed them vintage servers. We became servers at Our Lady of Grace, and when a new pastor came in, he decided he wanted to prioritize younger altar servers, as he saw them as future priests. We moved to Bayside and joined St. Eugene. The pastor was happy to have experienced servers, so I started serving again and continued with that.”

The Koslows were part of the November 2022 volunteer recruitment at St. Eugene. The volunteer coordinators specifically hoped to find older servers available for weekday Masses and funerals. With many previous adult servers having aged out, it needed to fill a volunteer gap that Mark Koslow happily helped with. As his fellow volunteers attest, he’s one of the most reliable and consistent adult volunteers at St. Eugene and has made a tremendous impact by regularly covering funerals and Saturday Masses.

Age is not a limiting factor in service, as Mark happily indicates. While Mark is the oldest server at St. Eugene, he isn’t the oldest volunteer. The parish has a lector in her 90s. He hopes others seek the calling and help fill the needs of their parishes.

Different churches have different volunteer needs. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion are in high demand, as most parishes need a plurality of volunteers to assist with distributing the Eucharist. Ushers are also in high demand. Positions are in greater demand during the summer, when younger volunteers aren’t available, and during the week for weekday Masses. However, there is often demand for most volunteer positions, depending on the individual parish.

“There is always a need for additional volunteers even at the most vibrant, active parish since serving the parish grows a person in their love of Christ and the Church. It isn’t having to serve Mass. It is getting to serve Mass,” says Cindy Lukowitz, Director of Stewardship for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

So, how about it? Is Mark Koslow the oldest altar server in the archdiocese? If you know of someone who has him beat, email the Catholic Herald at catholicherald@archmil.org.