May 20, 2017

Nine men ordained as permanent deacons, ready to serve

REGIONAL
Story by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – As the congregation sang “The Servant Song,” nine men to be ordained as permanent deacons in the Diocese of Springfield processed into St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield, Saturday, May 20. Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski was the principal celebrant at the special 11 a.m. Mass, called the Rite of Ordination of Deacons.

“So today as we gather, we rejoice that God has called these nine men to the order of deacon and calls each of us to bring Jesus’ presence to others,” Bishop Rozanski said to the hundreds of priests, deacons, family members and friends gathered.

The new permanent deacons are Gilbert St. George-Sorel of St. Mary Parish in Ware; Gerald Solitario of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in West Springfield; Adalberto Santiago-Martinez of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Holyoke; Lino Sanmiguel of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Chicopee; Jose Rivera of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield; David Picard of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Agawam; Rodney Patten Jr. of Holy Family Parish in South Deerfield; John Fox of Divine Mercy Parish in Three Rivers; and David Bergeron of St. Patrick Parish in South Hadley.

The four year diaconate formation program requires men to attend college courses at Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee two nights a week, while holding down full time jobs and caring for their families.

Lino Sanmiguel, a husband and father of three boys, works for Durham School Transportation.

“This is the day the Lord has made. It’s a wonderful day with the family and community,” said Deacon Sanmiguel who is also the administrator and host on Voz Catolica, Springfield’s Spanish Catholic radio station, broadcast on 102.5 FM.

“I feel the beautiful grace of God. His grace opened my heart to fulfill God’s mission in God’s holy church,” he continued.

St. George-Sorel is a resident engineer for an environmental company. He and his wife, Lauretta, have three children.

Solitario is an application and development operations manager. He and his wife, Margaret, have four children. Their eldest child, Dominican Brother John Mark Solitario, is in formation to become a priest.

Santiago-Martinez is an aerospace technician.

Rivera is a delivery driver. He and his wife, Margarita, have four children.

Picard is the president of Summit Careers. He and his wife, Sandra, have two children.

Patten Jr. is retired. He and his wife, Linda, have six children.

Fox teaches Spanish at Quaboag Regional School District in Warren and is the chairman of the foreign language department.

During the Rite of Ordination, the bishop calls the candidates forward, and asks each to declare their intentions to be obedient to the bishop and his successors. Then the nine men lie prostrate, as a sign of total submission to God.

“It’s kind of overwhelming and surreal. It is very humbling that God would choose to use us in this way to serve his people,” said David Bergeron, a husband and father who works in food services at Williston Academy in Easthampton.

“To me that’s what it’s all about. In the gospel this weekend, Jesus tells his disciples, ‘I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.’ People need to know that,” Deacon Bergeron added.

The bishop then lays his hands on each candidate. After the prayer of consecration, the priest from each deacon’s parish, helped him put on the stole and dalmatic.

Currently, there are 87 active deacons in the diocese and 17 retired deacons. Deacons play an important role in the life of the Catholic Church as part of the ordained ministry. They assist a priest during Mass. They can proclaim the Gospel and preach, and like a priest they are also ordinary ministers of the sacrament of baptism.

They can be married or unmarried, but cannot marry after they are ordained.

“The role of a deacon is to serve a pastor and his parish,” said Deacon Leo Coughlin, the director of the diaconate formation program for the Diocese of Springfield.

“They help at the church and at the Mass, which is obviously important. But it’s more important to be serving in the community, like Take and East, Just Faith or CCD. It’s a great class of great men. I’m expecting big things from them,” Deacon Coughlin continued.

Bishop Joseph F. Maguire ordained the first permanent deacons in the Diocese of Springfield on Jan. 15, 1983.

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of the Springfield Diocese’s weekly newsmagazine, “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 on WWLP-22NEWS