What Is The Ministry Of The Deacon?
The call to the Order of Deacon is a call to a ministry of service. The service ministry of a deacon may take many forms. Most deacons serve in parish ministry, primarily working with the pastor and parish staff in facilitating lay ministry. Like the priest, the deacon should call others to ministry by his witness and his example. As a facilitator of ministry, his task is to work with the pastor and parish staff in identifying areas of need. His task then is to train lay men and women to perform the ministry and, when the lay team is ready to take over, the deacon moves on to another area of need to repeat the process.
The diaconate was restored as a permanent ministry by Pope Paul VI, on June 18, 1967, upon the recommendation of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council. The first deacons in the United States were ordained in 1971 and the first in Dallas in 1973. The Dallas Diocese Formation program has been in continous operation since 1972 when it was established by retired Bishop Thomas Tschoepe.
If you would like more information on the role of the deacon in our parish, contact the pastor or church office.
