What's the deal with Deacons?

Click here for a short history of the Permanent Diaconate

From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal:

"94. After the priest, the deacon, in virtue of the sacred ordination he has received, holds first place among those who minister in the Eucharistic Celebration. For the sacred Order of the diaconate has been held in high honor in the Church even from the time of the Apostles. At Mass the deacon has his own part in proclaiming the Gospel, in preaching God's word from time to time, in announcing the intentions of the Prayer of the Faithful, in ministering to the priest, in preparing the altar and serving the celebration of the Sacrifice, in distributing the Eucharist to the faithful, especially under the species of wine, and sometimes in giving directions regarding the people's gestures and posture."

In addition to serving at a mass, a deacon may baptize, minister the marriage sacrament, and minister funerals, outside the mass, or within the mass, with special permission. This mass would still require a priest or bishop for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

In the 1960's, the Second Vatican Council sought to restore the ministry of the permanent diaconate, which had been waning up to that point in history in the western Catholic church. The ministry of the permanent diaconate can be found rather explicitly in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6. Only in recent decades have some local dioceses began to restore the permanent diaconate, in response to the Second Vatican Council. Deacons are ordained ministers of the church, and are very appropriate ministers of communion, ashes on Ash Wednesday, and most blessings. Priests are ordained transitional deacons, for at least a few months, before their ordination to the priesthood. Permanent deacons will never be ordained to the priesthood; this is a separate vocation.

The proper formal address of a permanent deacon would be, "Deacon [Name]," although familiarity, collegiality, and family relationship may preclude the need for this formality. Some people see a Deacon in vestments and refer improperly to him as, "Father." A deacon would not take offensive to his improper title, and he is likely not to correct it either.

A deacon's vestments include the stole worn over the left shoulder:

The white alb shown here is merely symbolic of baptism, and worn under the stole by bishops, priests, and deacons. A priest's stole is not worn over a shoulder, but around the back of his neck and down the front of his torso.

The stole is worn under a dalmatic:

A priest's chasuble is similar to this dalmatic, but a dalmatic has sleeves. A priest's stole is likewise worn under his chasuble.


Permanent deacons in the diocese of Evansville are typically not compensated, unless they serve the diocese or parish in a special paid position, like pastoral life coordinator. Many deacons of the diocese have a "regular day job" in the secular world, and others are often retired from a career. Deacons in the Diocese of Evansville are engineers, lawyers, scientists, psychologists, psychiatrists, doctors, university professors, accounting specialists, teachers, facility managers, principals, public servants, government workers, heating a/c repairmen, and so on. Permanent deacons provide financially for their own retirement, without church finances, just like the rest of the faithful.

Unlike bishops and priests, a permanent deacon may be married before ordination, and even have children, but they may not marry or remarry after ordination, even after the death of his wife. A permanent deacon, married before ordination, must have the endorsement of his wife, in order to be ordained.

Deacons assigned to Saint Benedict Cathedral are: Deacon David Cook (dcook@evdio.org), Deacon Jim Flynn (jflynn@evdio.org), and Deacon Kevin Bach (kbach@evdio.org).

These are the deacons ordained in 2009, on their ordination day at Saint Benedict Cathedral, August 15th, wearing white dalmatics over white stoles: