Posing for a photo outside The St. Paul Seminary chapel Nov. 20 are, from left, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Philip Grisez, Michael Braun, Victor Susai, Michael Lane, Adelmo Gracia and Michael Engel. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT
What stands out to Deacon Joe Michalak about this year’s class of deacons is how culturally diverse it is for its small size, seven. Three of the candidates are immigrants, natives of Colombia, El Salvador and southern India. Five are married, one widowed, and one never married.
“The Lord just blessed us within in such a smallish group such a range of life experience and diversity, which is great for the Church,” said Deacon Michalak, director of the Institute for Diaconate Formation at The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul. He noted Victor Susai, a parishioner of Pax Christi, Eden Prairie, will likely be the first Indian man ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, which has a sizable Indian Catholic community.
In addition to Susai, this year’s ordinands are Michael Braun of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Maplewood; Michael Engel of St. Michael, St. Michael; Adelmo Gracia of Assumption, Richfield; Philip Grisez of Our Lady of Grace, Edina; Michael Lane of Holy Spirit, St. Paul; and Jose Luis Rodriguez of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Minneapolis. They will be ordained by Archbishop Bernard Hebda 10 a.m. Dec. 4 at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.
The men — and for the married, their wives — have been involved in a formation process for five years. All are graduates of the seminary’s Archbishop Flynn Catechetical Institute, a requirement for application. The application process itself is rigorous with several stages, Deacon Michalak said. When men are accepted, Archbishop Hebda invites them into an aspirancy year (which, going forward, will be two years, due to program changes) before they are formally admitted as candidates and continue human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral formation.
After ordination, the permanent deacons (as contrasted to “temporary” deacons, men who will go on to be ordained priests) will minister for six months in their home parishes before receiving a new ministry assignment. Besides this year’s ordinands, 18 men are in formation, with ordination anticipated in 2023. And he expects soon to admit around 15 to 20 more men to the program, he said. But, the local Church still needs more deacons, Deacon Michalak said, and he encourages men who are interested to learn more about the vocation. Applicants must be 30, but he encourages men as young as 25 to attend one of the institute’s discernment days. “It’s a mature man’s ministry, not an old man’s ministry,” he said. “If God is calling you, he’ll give you what you need to respond.”
Deacon Michalak said that the deacon is “sort of undercover clergy” — ordained men in a lay lifestyle, able to go places a priest often doesn’t or can’t. “A deacon is a deacon 24-7, so he’s a deacon in the boardroom or he’s a deacon on the building site. He’s a deacon in his family. He’s a deacon in the parish, he’s a deacon shopping at Home Depot,” he said. He noted that as men who may be married with families, deacons are especially suited for relationship-based ministries, such as those for married couples, divorced men and women, or parents.
Deacon Michalak would love to see more deacons ministering in Catholic education, but he also observed the importance of having deacons who are doctors or construction workers, “places where the priest and the Church isn’t as penetrating or isn’t as active.” “My hope is that we pay more attention to fostering diaconal ministry … in the marketplace,” he said.
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