Diaconate Details

"Dear deacons, this is a grace you can implore daily in prayer. You can offer the Lord your work, your little inconveniences, your weariness and your hopes in an authentic prayer that brings your life to the Lord and the Lord to your life. When you serve at the table of the Eucharist, there you will find the presence of Jesus, Who gives himself to you so that you can give yourselves to others. In this way, available in life, meek of heart and in constant dialogue with Jesus, you will not be afraid to be servants of Christ, and to encounter and caress the flesh of the Lord in the poor of our time."

 Pope Francis:
-- Mass for Jubilee of Permanent Deacons, May 30, 2016

Office Staff

Deacon Norman Mejstrik - Director of Permanent Diaconate
Deacon Richard Boothe - Assistant Director
Deacon Jorge Pereira - Assistant Director, Spanish Language Diaconate
Deacon Thomas Phan  - Assistant Director, Vietnamese Language Diaconate

The Office Staff has the following responsibilities:

• Help interested applicants discern their possible call to the diaconate at  inquirer, aspirant, and candidate phases of formation
• Coordinate all aspects of formation and ordination including evaluation and testing
• Coordinate post-ordination formation opportunities for the ordained deacons in human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral areas.
• Offer ongoing education for wives of deacons and deacon candidates

The call to the Order of the Deacons is primarily a call to service. Although deacons are most visible to the community in their liturgical role and in service of the Word. Most deacons serve within a parish in ministries such as Religious Education (RE) and Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA). Some deacons also work outside the parish in ministries of charity and justice seving people in need or serving as hospital or prison chaplains.

Because deacons are called to a ministry of leadership, they work with their pastors and parish staff to facilitate lay ministry and to identify areas of need, to develop programs, and to train the laity in ministry. Like the priest, the deacon should call others to ministry by his witness, dedication, and example. 

A man interested in becoming a deacon may be a single or married man of faith who is:

• Called by God and church from among its members to be ordained to a life of service and spiritual leadership.
• Attentive to and prays about the Word of God. 
• Responding to a call of Christ, to serve his brothers and sisters. 
• Deeply and reverently committed to living the Word of God. 
• Living in a way that demonstrates his desire for and dedication to the service of God, even before ordination to the diaconate.
• Prompting others to ministry by his witness, example, and dedication of his life to the service of God.

In order to apply to the diaconate, an interested man must be:

• A practicing Catholic at least five years.
• A faithful Catholic who has demonstrated his faith and be of high moral character.
• Actively involved in lay ministry in the parish or archdiocese.
• In a stable marriage for at least five years and must have the full support of his wife, or if single, the applicant must be ready to accept the promise of celibacy at ordination.
• Sponsored by a parish.
• Age 35-65 at the time of ordination.
• Fluent in English, both writing and speaking.
• Able to commit to the duration of the required formation period.
• In good health and have no disability that would impede his ministry.
• A resident of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma.

Frequently Asked Questions About Permanent Diaconate