Bishop Kevin Farrell

The Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas

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Ordinations of Permanent Deacons

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It will give me great pleasure to ordain 27 candidates to the Order of Deacon at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the first two Saturdays of February. Fourteen of the men will receive the Sacrament of Orders on Saturday, February 2 and thirteen will be ordained on Saturday, February 9. The ordination class of 27 men reflects the diversity of the diocese. Three are Vietnamese, two Hispanic, one Chinese and one Korean. In 2011, twenty-nine Hispanic deacons were ordained.

Permanent deacons are an important part of the clergy of the Church of Dallas. Restoration of the diaconate as a regular ministry in the Church, in my opinion, was one of the most significant changes made by the Second Vatican Council.

On June 18, 1967, Pope Paul VI restored the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church by Motu Proprio. Permanent deacons were an active ministry in the early Church and into the Middle Ages. St. Francis of Assisi and St. Lawrence were among the most famous of the early permanent deacons. The order, as a separate ministry, fell into disuse and the diaconate became a step on the way to the priesthood until the Second Vatican Council.

Forty years ago this year, the first two permanent deacons were ordained for the Diocese of Dallas by Bishop Thomas Tschoepe. Since that time 263 men have been ordained to the permanent diaconate in Dallas. Some have retired, others moved out of the diocese and many have died.

Candidates for the permanent diaconate undergo more than five years of formation. The Diocese of Dallas’ formation program is considered one of the strongest in the country. It is conducted in cooperation with the School of Ministry of the University of Dallas.

Deacons fill many roles in the diocese. Most of our deacons have full time positions in addition to their ministry, but others work full time for the dioceses and some parishes.

A new class is now being formed. Invitations to start the Aspirancy Path of Diaconate Formation were sent to 51 men who recently went through a three month process of inquiry and discernment. Those who accept the invitation and continue through formation will be ordained in the spring of 2018.

Our deacons are a great gift to the Church. I often wonder how we did without them.

Six new transitional deacons

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“Receive the Gospel of Christ,
whose herald you have become,
Believe what you read,
Teach what you believe,
and practice what you teach.”

In ordination rites for the deacon, priest and bishop the final ceremony is the presentation of the symbol of office. For the deacon, that symbol is the Book of Gospels. He is, by ordination, the herald, the proclaimer of the Gospel.

On Saturday, March 12 it will be my great privilege to ordain to the transitional diaconate, six seminarians for the Diocese of Dallas. Transitional deacons, unlike permanent deacons, are men who will advance to the priesthood.

Do not underestimate the importance of diaconal ordination. It is the time when these men, who have been preparing themselves for years, become members of the clergy, commit themselves to a life of celibacy and to conform their way of life to the example of Christ and promise respect and obedience to the bishop and his successors.

Those present are always impressed by the deacons prostrating themselves before the altar in supplication. Following that, the Bishop lays hands on each ordinand and prays the ordination prayer.

Deacons are ordained to the service of the Bishop, so unlike ordination to the priesthood where all priests present lay hands, only the Bishop lays hands on the deacon.

The vestments of the deacon are the stole and dalmatic. After they are ordained family members or priests or deacons assist in vesting the newly ordained.

It is then that, kneeling before the bishop, the deacon is handed the Book of Gospels with the words: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Bishop embraces the new deacons in a greeting of peace.

As deacons, the newly ordained may proclaim the Gospel and preach. He becomes an ordinary minister of the Eucharist. In the time before he is ordained to the priesthood, he will be assigned to one of our parishes to work for a year.

My prayer for our new deacons is the one the Bishop prays during the ordination.

May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to conclusion.