Skip to content

Simple reading · Open the interactive atlas

Altar cards

Church Architecture

Altar cards are prayer aids placed on the altar for Mass. This customary three-card set has a large central card and smaller side cards. It supports selected texts and does not replace the missal.

Key points

Altar cards are prayer aids placed on the altar for Mass. This customary three-card set has a large central card and smaller side cards. It supports selected texts and does not replace the missal.
Three framed cards at the rear of the altar.

Sources and further reading

Missale Romanum (1962), Rubricae generales 525–530 — altar preparation (1962 typical edition; Latin primary text)
Adrian Fortescue, The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described (1919; 1920 impression), chapter I, pp. 1–9 (Second edition 1919, new impression 1920; period manual, predates 1962)

Related records

Missal and stand (Church Architecture)
High altar (Church Architecture)

Open Church Layout in the interactive atlas