Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   LOCAL FEATURES Friday, October 25, 2002 Diaconate marks 25th anniversary with Oct. 27 fete By Susan K. Virgalitte The 25th anniversary celebration of the Permanent Diaconate in the Diocese of Youngstown will be held Oct. 27 with a 4 p.m. Mass at St. Columba Cathedral, Youngstown. Bishop Thomas J. Tobin and Bishop Benedict C. Franzetta, retired auxiliary bishop of Youngstown, will be the celebrants. The celebration will continue with a dinner to follow – by invitation only – at the Holiday Inn-Metroplex in Girard. Permanent deacons are ordained clerics whose liturgical functions include proclaiming the Gospel, preaching the homily, assisting the priest at Mass, administering Baptism, distributing Communion, presiding over funeral and burial services, and acting as the official witness at weddings. A deacon is ordained to a ministry of service. He is called to give of himself to the poor, the hungry, the sick, and the suffering. Currently, 68 men serve as permanent deacons in the Diocese of Youngstown. Deacon Ray Hatala, associate director of the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate, said that many Catholics only see deacons helping at the altar at Mass. In reality most deacons’ duties are not liturgical but are works of service to the Body of Christ, he said. Deacons give service in the Church by caring for the poor, visiting the sick and those in prison. “They go anywhere there is help needed,” he said. “Their work is a form of evangelization to show that the Church cares.” The office of the deacon dates to the early days of the Church when the apostles appointed seven men in the community, including St. Stephen, the first martyr, to oversee the distribution of food to the widows of the community (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 6). Deacon Hatala said the office of deacon continued for centuries, but no one knows exactly when that office was abandoned. For many centuries, the only deacons were transitional deacons who were soon to be ordained to the priesthood. The bishops of the Second Vatican Council restored the Permanent Diaconate in 1967, and the first class of eight deacons in the Youngstown Diocese was ordained in 1977. “The bishops realized they were missing a special service in the Church,” Deacon Hatala said. “People should know what deacons are and what they do,” he said. “As Christ serves, that is how deacons serve. He is doing that because Christ cares, not because he is a nice guy.” Because deacons may be married before ordination, Deacon Hatala said, the main focus of a married deacon is service to his family first. “This shows the world that is where the unity between Christ and his Church is merged. That is why we have to nurture our marriages. The wife is also involved in the ministry.” He said that he and his wife, Sue, talk a lot about their respective ministries. Most deacons hold full-time jobs in addition to their diaconate duties. Some, like Deacon Hatala, are retired from their secular jobs. In addition to his duties at the diocese, he serves as pastoral minister at Poland Holy Family Parish. He coordinates the parish bereavement ministry, teaches religion classes at the school and CCD program, is spiritual adviser of the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society, and supervises and trains the 140 altar servers of the parish. He also helps at Lowellville Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Parish. “People ask me why I didn’t become a priest,” Deacon Hatala said. “’You do everything they do,’ they say. I tell them ‘because God did not call me to become a priest.’ I am called to a different ordained ministry. I am not called to the priesthood. I knew when I was called, it was not to the priesthood, but to the diaconate.” Deacon Hatala added that the service component of the diaconate was what attracted him. “I think that is a giant part of Christ’s life – service. I am so happy to do that. I am happy to be a worker.” Msgr. John Zuraw, executive director of the diocesan Department of Clergy and Religious Services, told the Exponent this week that Bishop Thomas Tobin has recently appointed a committee which will begin an extensive study of the formation and education of future permanent deacon candidates for ministry within the Diocese of Youngstown. This committee, comprised of priests, religious, deacons and their spouses, and others who function in various Church ministries, will use as its primary resource the 1998 Vatican document “Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons, Directory for the Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons.” They will also use the “National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States.” Once this study is presented and approved, the formation and education of future candidates will begin, Msgr. Zuraw said.   Back to Exponent Menu Printer Friendly Page   Other Articles of 2002   Christmas letter from El Salvador missions thanks diocesan Catholics   Bishop shares views, discussion with Central students   ETC slates Christmas specials throughout the season   My Favorite Christmas Memories   Guidelines on religious ed homeschooling are issued   Local Catholic radio station targets Feb. 1 date   HMs end 98-years of service to Salem St. Paul Parish   Learn ‘language’ of young, youth meet speaker urges   Bishop Tobin: Meeting in D.C. on norms was ‘anxious, tense, difficult’   Priests must ask one another the tough questions, speaker says   Catholic death and funeral rites   Deacons mark 25th with Mass, dinner, memories   Diocesan Ministry Convocation Speaker: Global solidarity, not globalization, should be aim   Jusseaume inaugurated as sixth Walsh president   Diaconate marks 25th anniversary with Oct. 27 fete   New norms sent to priests, deacons on Communion under both kinds   Ashtabula parishes are ‘one Catholic community’   Jusseaume to become Walsh’s sixth president   Charismatic speaker: ‘Church being tested in faithfulness’   Lutheran/Catholic covenant event draws 140 to Walsh   Canton St. Joseph Parish observes centennial celebration   HMHP CEO Michael Rowan   Stewardship speaker: It’s about gratitude and thanking God first   Imagination is key to resolving crisis, priests told   War with Iraq? Expo readers opposed by 81-19%   Newspaper columns didn’t give complete story, official says   Diocesan Ministry Convocation set Oct. 26 at YSU’s Kilcawley   New year brings new faculty, changes at diocesan high schools   Mont St. Michel, Avignon’s papal palace are treasures   Preparing for the priesthood   Entering well-earned retirement, Sr. Marcella’s not slowing down   Warren St. Mary observes 100th year for church building   Lay Ministry Formation program attracting new audience   The cathedrals of France: Monuments of faith in stone   Executive summary of the ad hoc commission on athletics in diocesan high schools   ‘No widespread abuse’ found   Milburn leaving pro-life post to pursue grad studies   Return to France yields history, memories, surprises   Two new members appointed for Diocesan Finance Council   Former SS. C&M school razed, but memories remain   Pastor, 80, keeps busy with ‘lots of interests’   Ravenna IC boasts 5 high school valedictorians for ‘02   Humility Sister Sandy Pedone to profess perpetual vows July 21   NRLC convention filled with good news   ‘Capture the Romance’ is theme for NFP Week   Question of moral evil discussed at Walsh symposium   Notre Dame Sisters will celebrate jubilees July 14   ‘A great lady’ retires   Statement of Bishop Tobin on the meeting of the U. S. Conference   Haladej, Celuch ordained to priesthood, diaconate in Slovakia   Bishop plans implementation of norms on sexual abuse   Kevin McCaffrey, Robert Miller are newest priests   Theologian: ‘Behave toward others as though God were there’   Fr. Bonnot: Use good judgment for TV, movie viewing   MOMS: ‘A place to claim yourself’   Storm ‘changed lives forever’ for Jackson Twp. family   Bishop will ordain Miller, McCaffrey at May 25 ceremony   Update on child abuse   Vicar general addresses issue of not giving priest names to media   New Middletown St. Paul youth — called to be ‘witnesses’ for Christ   New Ursuline Sisters leadership team elected to 6-year term   Two receive first pastorates; two pastors change parishes   Abuse coverage   Walsh University dedicates new ‘David’ campus center   Sisters’ HIV/AIDS ministry critical, heartbreaking   Bishop visits St. Peter’s as rebuilding process begins   Chrism Mass theme: Priests can’t afford discouragement   Bishop’s Appeal stresses meeting needs, funding ministries   Diocese OKs closing Conneaut St. Frances Cabrini K-8; preschool stays   St. Stan’s marks 100th year   Canton St. Joseph choir enjoys ‘incredible trip’   New schools superintendent   Four journeys of faith among hundreds marked here   DPC considers direction, importance of youth ministry   Richard Jusseaume named as Walsh University’s sixth president   Pro-life dinner heralds new beginning in Stark County   Kids at church   Religious day studies resurrection amid culture of violence   Richard Jusseaume named as Walsh University’s sixth president   Keynoter: Eucharist should change us   Speaker: ‘Truth’ key concept in Gospel of John   Parishes offer Lenten missions for spiritual enrichment   Parishes offer Lenten missions, speakers series   Working in Medjugorje   TV anchorman finds faith not incompatible with journalism   Action alert on cloning set in diocese for Feb. 2-3   Austintown parishioner finds fulfillment in El Salvador   ‘Where Faith and Knowledge Meet’   Resisting TEMPTATION: It’s worth the effort, teens say   4th annual Diocesan Pro-life Mass set Jan. 26   Catholic/Lutheran dialogue, death of Walsh president top news   Diocese helping Afghanistan relief   Past Articles From 2001