St. George’s: Six men were today ordained Deacons by Most Rev Bishop Vincent Darius. The ordination ceremony was held at newly refurbished Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception amidst loud, joyful pride and an emotionally touching celebrations at 11:35 a.m.
Director of Formation, Father Clifton Harris O.P., said the ordination to permanent deaconate “was a very moving and special moment in the lives of these six men and their families.” It was a very touching moment for the six to their diaconal ordination. It is a personal and lifelong commitment being made by each ordained minister as he commits himself to the daily recitation of the Divine Office.
The six men are Carlyle Glean Jr., Raphael “Croquette” Johnson, Raymond “Tony” Joseph, Cecil St. Louis, Loftus McMillan and Goderick Pierre.
Hundreds of family members, friends, parishioners, members of other religious denominations and government ministers including Governor General, Sir Carlyle, (Father of Deacon Carlyle Glean Jr.), Prime Minister Hon Tillman Thomas and Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Keith Mitchell, filled the Cathedral for this historic occasion in the life of the Church. It comes at a time as Grenada prepares to celebrate its 37th anniversary of Independence and the Church seeks to get more of its own in the leadership of the Church.
This ordination makes it ten (10) men to join the Holy Orders since the ordination of Bishop Vincent Darius, Grenada’s first local ordained Bishop.
The deacons form part of the three groups, or “orders,” of ordained ministers in the Catholic Church: bishops, presbyters and deacons. Deacons are ordained as a sacramental sign to the Church and to the world of Christ, who came “to serve and not to be served” (Mark 10:45). The entire Church is called by Christ to serve, and the deacon, in virtue of his sacramental ordination and through his various ministries, is to be a servant in a servant-Church. Through their ordination, deacons are configured expressly to Christ the servant and are called to be ministers of service and charity.
The newly ordained deacons can now perform weddings and baptisms and preside at funeral services outside of Mass. They can preach and teach and lead prayer services. They are, however, restricted from consecrating the Eucharist, anointing the sick or hearing confessions.
Father Harris said, “the deacons therefore have the responsibility and the obligation to know his community, to know what problems and needs beset that community, and to know what resources are available in the community for people in need. Because the deacon comes out of a particular community, he knows that community with all its history, all its good and bad, as a priest probably never will. And he naturally knows who in his community most in need of the service of charity is. The deacon must be the face of the church’s charity, which is Christ’s charity. It is the deacon who takes Christ’s charity into the world.”
