May 19, 2019

Six men ordained as permanent deacons, ready to serve

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

Six men were ordained as permanent deacons in the Diocese of Springfield, Saturday, May 18 at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD – As the congregation sang the “Servant Song,” six men processed into St. Michael’s Cathedral ready to serve Saturday, May 18. Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski celebrated the special 11 a.m. Mass called the Rite of Ordination of Deacons in which the men were ordained as permanent deacons in the Diocese of Springfield.

The men ordained are Angel Delgado of Westfield; Andrew Hogan of Springfield; Robert O’Connor of Northfield; John Miller of Springfield; Osvaldo Mendez of Westfield; and Michael Forrest of Hampden.

“We have from the Acts of the Apostles that seven men were chosen to assist the apostles in their ministry. Really this ministry is carried on from the Acts of the Apostles,” Bishop Rozanski explained. “I’m grateful to God that this day has arrived, that formation has brought them to their ordination and we’re grateful in the church of Springfield to see that God’s calling those men.”

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 also are ordinary ministers of the sacrament of baptism.

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

Springfield Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski presents the Book of Gospels to Deacon Robert O’Connor during the Rite of Ordination, Saturday, May 18.

Deacon O’Connor is not married. He also took the vow of chastity during the ordination rite. O’Connor said he was away from the church for many years.

“This is a beginning of a new relationship with Christ and his church. It’s exciting. I’m walking ten feet off the ground at the moment,” Deacon O’Connor said. He will now serve at Blessed Sacrament and Holy Trinity Parishes in Greenfield.

“When you start handing your life over to God, he starts pulling you closer and closer and shows you more love and keeps opening opportunities,” Deacon O’Connor said. “You just have to let go of what you thought it was going to be and let him show you something so beautiful.”

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 six men lie prostrate, as a sign of total submission to God. The bishop then lays his hands on each candidate. 

Deacon Mendez is the facilities engineering supervisor at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield. He and his wife, Yolanda, have five children. Their oldest son is Father Yerick Mendez.

“I’m very excited to serve God’s people,” said Deacon Mendez. “We’re a close family and the most important thing for us is God and to serve him as a family, not only myself and my son, but my wife and other children.”

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.

Deacon Hogan is the vice president of Hogan Technology, Inc. in Easthampton. He and his wife, Jo-Anne, have two adult children and two grandchildren. His wife, who is a convert to Catholicism, said the couple has grown in their faith together. They’ve been married 31 years.

“It’s very exciting. At the same point I felt this day would never come. Four years is a long time to be in the classes, all the homework, all the reading. It’s just so exciting to finally be here,” said Jo-Anne Hogan. “Twenty-five years ago, I went to RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) at Sacred Heart in Springfield. I became Catholic. We had our marriage blessed by the Catholic Church. So it’s been a big adventure. It’s been exciting for us. God works in mysterious ways.”

Currently, there are 78 active deacons in the diocese. Springfield 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 “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22NEWS and in the Berkshires Sunday mornings at 5:30 on Albany’s Fox 23, WXXA.