Celebrating 50 Years of the Permanent Diaconate

Archdiocese Deacon 50th Anniversary The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) reestablished the diaconate as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy of the Church. In 1968, the bishops of the United States received approval to restore the diaconate in this country.

Cardinal Tobin declared a one-year celebration in the Archdiocese of Newark of the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the permanent diaconate beginning on October 8, 2017, and concluding on October 7, 2018. Additionally, a National Diaconate Congress was held in New Orleans in July 2018, celebrating the renewal of the Order of Diaconate.

The first American deacon was ordained in 1969 by Bishop Fulton Sheen. Today there are nearly 20,000 serving in the United States and just over 49,000 serving the Universal Church worldwide. 40% of all deacons serve in the United States.

Events

March 8, 2018 - Reflections on the Diaconate: Current and Future
Presented by Rev. Msgr. Timothy Shugrue
April 27, 2018 – Evening of Prayer – Holy Hour and Fellowship Lessons from the Diaconal Ministry of St. Lawrence
Presented by Rev. Lawrence B. Porter, Ph.D.
July 22-26, 2018 - National Diaconate Congress: Christ the Servant: Yesterday, Today, Forever

Resource

Article: St. Lawrence’s Death on a Grill: Fact or Fiction? An Update on the Controversy
by Rev. Lawrence B. Porter, first published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Fall 2017, vol. 20, no. 4, pages 89-111, St. Thomas University.