WARWICK – During a 1980 interview with the Los Angeles Times, the same year he entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame, legendary Rams, Chargers, and Redskins defensive end David Jones – better known as “Deacon” Jones and famous for his ferocious quarterback sacks – explained why he gave himself that nickname early in his NFL career. “Football,” he said, “is a violent world and Deacon has a religious connotation. I thought a name like that would be remembered.”
It certainly has been, even to generations of fans born long after his career ended. Including another Deacon Jones, a Warwick native who occasionally roams the gridiron today in search of opposing QBs. “I get some sacks, but they’re usually in flag football,” Nick Jones laughed when the coincidental connection came up in conversation. “Thank you for making that reference. When I first knew this was going to be my life, I expected that, but … he was a little bigger than I am.”
Indeed, the name is one of few similarities they share. The late Deacon Jones stood a towering 6-foot-5, and if you transpose those numbers, you come close to approximating the newest one’s height. What’s more, Nick Jones didn’t give himself the title of Deacon. It has been bestowed upon him by the Catholic Church, whom Jones is preparing to serve for the rest of his life.
At St. John’s Seminary in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood, the 26-year-old is pursuing the priesthood and became deacon during a Mass at his home parish of St. Kevin’s in Warwick this past Saturday. Most Rev. Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., the 10th Bishop of Providence, celebrated, in keeping with the Church’s ritual prompted Jones with a series of questions during the Promise of the Elect to express desire and willingness to be ordained.
Our modern English word deacon owes its etymological roots to the Greek diakonos, meaning attendant, or one who serves. Athletic competition may not at first blush be an obvious setting in which to learn about serving in a religious sense, yet Jones has actually found that to be the case in his experience with the SJS flag football and basketball teams.
“I’m not a basketball player … that would be a liability,” he’s quick to point out. “I’m the team manager, so, I drive the van, I wash the jerseys. We’re not exactly the best team. We often lose pretty badly at tournaments around the country, but still, there are the memories and the way that can be sort of a test bed for the other that can be sort of a test bed for the other things that we’re learning.
“You’re being formed to keep your cool in stressful situations, like when you’re down by 20 points in the second half. Or logistics. How about getting everyone across the country and making sure the jerseys are washed on time, that kind of stuff. Those experiences where you’re able to take some of the theory of what your life is going to look like and then apply it, that’s been definitely a highlight.”
That learning-from-unlikely-teachers theme carried over into Bishop Lewandowski’s homily, during which he encouraged Jones to keep his eyes, mind, and heart open to various “theologians” he’s sure to encounter throughout his everyday ministry. “There are theologians in the pews, theologians in our soup kitchens, in our parish schools, in our parish offices, and I’m not talking about priests and deacons,” the bishop emphasized.
“Go to the school of the sick, the sinner, the doubter, the fearful, the angry, the confused, the upset, the suffering, the marginalized, the outcast … the homeless, the unemployed, the imprisoned, the immigrant, the dying. Spend time with them this coming year and let them teach you. We have so much more to learn.”
Jones’ classroom learning resumes this fall in Brighton, Mass. A lifelong Rhode Islander, the Bishop Hendricken High School and University of Rhode Island graduate was later accepted at Our Lady of Providence Seminary.
“It was a brave new world, (Being in Brighton, Mass.)” he confessed, “but another opportunity to trust God, and I’m so grateful for these years with my classmates. This is the end of our fifth year together and they’ve become some of my best friends. I’m grateful that I started and have had my whole experience here in this one environment. It’s been wonderful, really. I just can’t say enough about how much I’ve liked it up here.”
His Brighton days are dwindling, however, particularly now that he’s a deacon. A few days before his ordination, Jones moved into St. Philip’s in Greenville, where he’s assigned for the summer to gain practical, hands-on parish experience under the tutelage of its pastor, Father Michael J. Najim. Jones expects to assist with Masses, including wakes and burial services, baptisms, witnessing marriages outside of Mass, and whatever other responsibilities may arise.
Afterward, he returns to St. John’s until December for a final semester of seminary classes that focus on celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and other courses. The first half of 2027, Jones expects to be back at St. Philip.
“The idea,” he observes, “is that you don’t progress to that level of leadership, governance, authority, until you’ve learned how to carry out service in a humbler way. The Lord Himself, while in the flesh, said, ‘I’m going to wash your feet to teach you how you should act.’ I’m going to be called Deacon Jones – ‘Servant’ Jones – and I want to make sure that I’m living that out and not forgetting that that’s the whole point. And the higher you go, in fact, the more people there are to serve.”
