PROVIDENCE – Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has authorized the recruitment, training and ordaining of a new class of Permanent Deacons for the Diocese.
This is the first diaconate class recruited since 1997. The diocese has also created a section of its Web site at www.dioceseofprovidence.org/deacon to provide additional information.
Deacons are men, mostly married, ordained to service in the Catholic Church, and serve in parishes, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons or other areas of ministry as needed. Canon Law and the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on The Church, Lumen Gentium, specify that deacons may baptize, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services, distribute the Eucharist, proclaim the Gospel and preach.
“This new program will help the Catholic Church in Rhode Island fulfill its spiritual mission,” said Deacon Paul Sullivan, Director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate Office.
“I am hopeful that many discerning a call to the diaconate will take this opportunity to learn more about the program to deepen their commitment to ministry.”
“Permanent Deacons provide a critical and generous service to the vibrant spiritual life of the Diocese of Providence,” said Bishop Tobin. “This program will enable those who have been called to the diaconate the necessary training that will prepare them for future ministry as they deepen their own faith and relationship with Christ. I would encourage anyone interested in pursuing such a vocation to contact the Permanent Diaconate office to explore this opportunity to serve Christ and the Church.”
The program will begin in January of 2009, with an ordination scheduled for late winter or spring of 2013. The Program of Formation will be four full years, with classes being conducted by the diocese and Theology Department at Providence College. Classes will be, approximately, one night per week with three “weekends away” each semester, except summer, where the candidates will focus on a single academic topic or be on retreat, for the enrichment of their souls. Course instruction will focus on topics such as Fundamentals of Theology, Dogmatic Theology, Christology, Moral Theology, Scripture, Patristics and Sacramentology.
A college degree is not required by applicants; however, an academic proficiency examination will be administered to all prospective candidates during the application process. Successful candidates must be able to master materials presented at the collegiate and graduate school levels.
Successful applicants must be at least 31 years of age and not older than 61 on January 1, 2009. The applicant must be a fully initiated Catholic in good standing with the church. In accordance with diocesan policy, a full background check will be conducted for each person during the application process.
Applicants should be actively involved in ministry at either a parish or diocesan level and, if married, be in a stable marriage of at least five years and have the support and agreement of his wife and family to pursue a diaconal vocation. If an applicant is unmarried, (single or widowed), he should be living a lifestyle consistent with the call to the ordained ministry of the Catholic Church.
The Diocese of Providence’s Web site includes helpful information relative to the program, including application materials, frequently-asked questions and soon, links to an informational video produced by the diocesan Office of Communications.
The Office for Permanent Deacons will sponsor information evenings at the end of June or the beginning of July in Providence, South County and in the East Bay. Dates and locations will be published on the diocesan Web site.
There are currently 102 deacons in the Diocese of Providence, 71 of whom are in active ministry. When this current class is ordained in 2013, it is estimated that fewer than 50 deacons will remain in active ministry. In 1994, 23 deacons were ordained; 1997, 12; and 2002, 16.
For more information and application instructions, visit www.dioceseofprovidence.org/?id=133, call Deacon Paul Sullivan at 278-4650 or e-mail the Permanent Diaconate Office at Diaconate@DioceseofProvidence.org.
