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The quest for the sacred, the ritualization of the major stages of life, and aspiration towards spiritual development: all of these are fundamental human needs that have existed at all times and in all cultures. Today these needs are expressed through new forms of spiritual ceremonies outside the traditional ecclesiastical framework. Baptisms without priest or minister, marriages outside the Church, and secular funerals are being offered by independent “celebrants”. What does the emergence of this new phenomenon reveal, from a point of view that is at once anthropological, sociological and pastoral? What challenges does the spread of such made-to-measure secular ceremonies raise for church ministers? Echoes from a bilingual seminar held at the Faculty of Theology of the Université de Fribourg in the autumn 2010 semester.