Deacon candidates take first formal step toward ordination

Friday, Jun. 09, 2023

SALT LAKE CITY — Bishop Oscar A. Solis celebrated the Rite of Admission to Candidacy for Holy Orders on June 3 in the Cathedral of the Madeleine for nine men who are studying for the diaconate. 

“It is a remarkable and significant moment for our local Church in need of men and women to help carry out the mission of evangelization of our Church,” the bishop said in his homily.

In the Catholic Church, deacons are ordained to a life of service through the ministries of charity, the Word and the liturgy. They may proclaim the Gospel, preach homilies and assist at the altar during Mass. They also may baptize, witness marriages and preside at funerals.

The Rite of Candidacy is the first formal step toward ordination for these men. Also, “Their admission to candidacy is the first official recognition of the positive signs of their vocation to the permanent diaconate,” Bishop Solis said.

The rite came at the end of 18 months of discernment “for the aspirant, his wife and the Church,” said Deacon Scott Dodge, director of the diocesan Diaconate Office. 

At the end of that period of aspirancy, and before the Rite of Admission, the Diaconate Admission & Scrutiny Committee conducted a comprehensive review of each aspirant and made its recommendations to the bishop, Deacon Dodge said. In addition, each aspirant petitioned the bishop, asking to be accepted as a candidate for Holy Orders. Written consent of the wife of each aspirant was required before her husband could be accepted as a candidate.

In his homily, Bishop Solis noted that the readings for the day (Sir 39:1b, 5-8; 1 Cor 12:4-11 and John 1:35-42) presented “helpful insights on the significance of your decision.”

The reading from Sirach “reminds us to seek the wisdom of God,” the bishop said, while St. Paul “makes us understand [the need] to open our heart to receive the presence of the Holy Spirit and God’s spiritual gifts.” The Gospel reading emphasized the importance of humility, he said. 

“Ministry of service is not about pride and self-worth,” Bishop Solis said. “It is all too easy to get caught up in yourself, but we all know that others come first, and so does God. At this early stage of your formation, learn and prepare to go where God calls you with humility and openness of heart.”

The diaconate “is a call to holiness and mission, a commitment to service and sacrifice patterned after the life of Christ, who came to serve and not be served,” he said.

Having been accepted as candidates, the men now will undertake four years of academic formation. “They will study Scripture; dogmatic, moral, and sacramental theology; canon law; homiletics; pastoral care; pastoral ethics and other subjects that prepare them to minister as members of the clergy,” Deacon Dodge said.

Each candidate will be assigned a deacon mentor, Deacon Dodge said, and they also are required to have a spiritual director.

The candidates are Patrick (Eugenia) Bondad, St. George Parish;  Michael (Melissa) Corcoran, St. Thomas More Parish; Kevin (Catherine) Cummings, St. Rose of Lima Parish; Michael (Rachel) Edwards; St. Mary Parish, West Haven; Evan (Maria) Fisher, St. Olaf Parish; Alex (Lourdes) Guzman; St. Mary Parish, West Haven; John (Jessica) Jurkowski, St. Mary Parish, West Haven; Daniel (Deidre ) Schoenfeld; St. Thomas More Parish; Gerardo (Juliana) Villa, Sacred Heart Parish.