Five Catholic bishops will ordain 13 Saint Paul Seminary seminarians as transitional deacons this spring and summer.
The transitional diaconate normally marks the final year of a man’s formation before he becomes a Catholic priest. Transitional deacons are in the process of “transitioning” to the priesthood, whereas permanent deacons are ordained deacons and remain in that state.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops states: “A deacon is an ordained minister of the Catholic Church. There are three groups, or ‘orders,’ of ordained ministers in the Church: bishops, presbyters [priests] and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came ‘to serve and not to be served.’ The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church.”
“As deacons, they will have amazing opportunities that they’ve never had before,” Archbishop Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said at the ordination Mass of five seminarians from his archdiocese. “They will be baptizing our children, presiding at weddings, preaching God’s word at Holy Mass. But all of that needs to be seen in the optic of humble service.
“The Church forms you first as servants so that you can embrace whatever else the Lord may be calling you to do for His Church.”
This year’s transitional deacon class, organized by ordination date and location, includes:
Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis | 10 a.m. Saturday, May 11 at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis
- Benjamin Eichten
- Alexander Hall
- Alexander Marquette
- Zachary Ochsenbauer
- Randall Skeate
“The Church forms you first as servants so that you can embrace whatever else the Lord may be calling you to do for His Church.” — Archbishop Hebda, Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis
Diocese of Winona-Rochester | 10 a.m. Saturday, May 25 at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Winona
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- Jordan Danielson
- Benjamin Peters
- Timothy Welch
Diocese of Sioux Falls | 11 a.m. Thursday, May 30 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls
- Gerald “J.P.” Thornton
Diocese of St. Cloud | 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 8 at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud
- Nathaniel Daubner
- Joseph VanDenheuvel
Archdiocese of Hartford | 11 a.m. Saturday, June 22 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford
- Martin Chouinard
- Mitchell Kendrioski