‘Come and see’ events about the diaconate to be held throughout May
Deacon candidates from across the archdiocese kneel in prayer during a June 24, 2017, Mass in SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in which 21 men from across the archdiocese were ordained as permanent deacons. (File photo by Sean Gallagher)
By Sean Gallagher
Beginning in early May, four “come and see” events will be held in parishes across central and southern Indiana to help Catholic men in the archdiocese learn more about the life and ministry of deacons.
Deacon John Jacobi, archdiocesan associate director of deacon formation, described in an interview with The Criterion the qualities of a man who might show a possible call to the diaconate.
“It’s a man who is engaged in prayer,” he said. “It’s a man who is involved in his parish beyond Mass attendance. He’s really involved in ministries of charity. He loves being a servant and is already engaged in some sort of work of service.”
The events held in May will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. A short presentation on the diaconate will be given, and a deacon who serves in the archdiocese will share his journey toward this ministry in the Church. There will also be time for questions about the diaconate. (Related: See the dates for all the ‘come and see’ events in May)
These meetings will be held in advance of monthly inquiry sessions about the diaconate on Sunday afternoons that will begin in September and will continue through the following spring.
Those sessions are meant to assist men who are discerning a possible call to be a deacon. During the course of them, they may be able to apply to be accepted into a new cohort of aspirants for the diaconate that would begin formation in the fall of 2027.
The Church’s Code of Canon Law sets 35 as the minimum age at which a man can be ordained as a permanent deacon. Additionally, the archdiocese also requires men to be no older than 65 at the time of their ordination.
At whatever age a man is ordained, Deacon Jacobi emphasized that the call to this ministry is lifelong.
“Pope John Paul II said that the deacon is the Church’s service sacramentalized,” he said. “There’s a love of service and it’s lifelong,” adding that a deacon is “a servant of the Church for however many years God gives him.”
The life and ministry of permanent deacons, which was common in the first centuries of the Church, was revived in the implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Permanent deacons may be married at the time of their ordination. Their primary ministry is in various forms of service. They also may proclaim the Gospel and preach at Mass, may celebrate baptisms and officiate at graveside services.
The first cohort of archdiocesan deacons was ordained in 2008. There have been subsequent cohorts ordained in 2012, 2017 and 2022. A cohort of current deacon candidates is expected to be ordained in 2027.
Deacon Jacobi said that the process is starting for a new cohort of men to be formed for the diaconate because an increasing number of men who were ordained in the initial cohorts are retiring from ministry. He also said that there is a growing desire for deacons to serve in more parishes across the archdiocese.
“There are still a lot of parishes that don’t have a deacon,” he said. “We can move a few [deacons] around to help with that. But we’d really like to increase the number as well. If a priest wants a deacon’s assistance in his parish or parishes, the archbishop would like to be able to offer that.”
Deacon Jacobi noted that men ordained as deacons are to have a broad vision of ministry, both within the archdiocese and beyond.
“We’re ordained for the archdiocese, not for a parish,” he said. “We’re also there to minister to the wider community, Catholics and non-Catholics.”
Deacons serving across central and southern Indiana do this broader ministry of charity in a variety of ways: in jails and prisons, in hospitals and nursing homes and in charitable agencies and programs.
Deacon Jacobi, who also serves in the New Albany Deanery at St. Bernard Parish in Frenchtown, St. Joseph Parish in Crawford County and at St. Michael Parish in Bradford, had already been a parish catechetical leader and youth minister for many years before discerning a call to the diaconate.
“When I was in formation, I really struggled with why God was calling me to this,” said Deacon Jacobi, who was ordained in 2017. “I couldn’t shake the call I knew that was there. But I had been involved in Church ministry for many years. Why did I need this?
“Finally, it just sunk in that I was pledging myself to this. I wasn’t simply being called to ministry for a time but for a lifetime. There is such a blessing when God’s will and our will align. There is such a blessing in being able to answer God’s call.”
He encouraged men who have already engaged in service of various kinds in and beyond their parishes to take part in any of the “come and see” events in May.
“If you’ve felt the tug, come and see,” he said. “That’s the invitation.”
(For more information about the upcoming diaconate “come and see” events to held in May across the archdiocese or for more information about the formation of deacons and the life and ministry of deacons in the archdiocese, visit archindy.org/deacon or contact Deacon John Jacobi at jjacobi@archindy.org or 812-946-0873.) †
