Deacons: an ancient order serving in diverse ministries today

An article from the San Francisco diocesan paper about the ancient order of deacon in today's Church. The article begins...

An active parishioner and energetic volunteer outside the church, Ven Garcia was discussing plans for a spiritual retreat with an assistant pastor at the Church of Epiphany in San Francisco several years ago when suddenly, apropos of nothing, the priest asked him if he had ever considered becoming a deacon.

“That was the first time I heard about it,” Garcia said. “My initial reaction, after he explained it to me, was ‘no.’”

Now in his fourth year of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s five-year formation program for permanent deacons, the 61-year-old retired state worker is on track to be ordained by Archbishop George Niederauer in 2012 in an elaborate ceremony marking his entrance into an ancient and honored order of the Church.

For many Catholics, it is an order whose identity and role remains shrouded in mystery.

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