News and Events

News Releases

Twenty-three Permanent and Transitional Catholic Deacons will be Ordained on Saturday, May 13 at 10 a.m. at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago

The Archdiocese of Chicago has the largest Catholic diaconate in the world with 500 active deacons

Chicago, (May 10, 2023) – Nineteen permanent and four transitional Catholic deacons will be ordained at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at Holy Name Cathedral, 735 N. State St., Chicago. Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, will be the main celebrant at the ordination and will offer the homily. The newly ordained deacons will be assigned to parishes in Bartlett, Chicago, Cicero, Des Plaines, Lake Villa, Melrose Park, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, and Wilmette.

The ordination will be livestreamed on the archdiocese’s YouTube channel Catholic Chicago: https://www.youtube.com/live/dmhpA5e67Fc?feature=share

“As the Holy Father reminds us, just as Jesus made Himself the servant of all, deacons are called to serve the Church and God’s People, especially those who feel excluded,” said Cardinal Cupich. “I look forward with hope to the ministry of our new deacons and their gifts of selfless service and dedication.”

In the Catholic Church, deacons preparing for the priesthood are known as transitional deacons. They are seminarians ordained after their third year of theology studies at Mundelein Seminary, and will return for one more year of studies as deacons before ordination to the priesthood in 2024. Those not planning to be ordained priests are called permanent deacons. Married men may be ordained permanent deacons. Single men who commit to celibacy may be ordained as permanent deacons.

The newly ordained deacons will assist the bishop and his priests in ministries of the Word, Liturgy and Charity. These include proclaiming the Gospel, leading intercessions, preaching, preparing the altar, celebrating baptisms, leading the faithful in prayer, distributing holy communion, witnessing marriages and conducting wake and funeral services. Deacons also identify the needs of the poor and underserved, and shepherd the Church's resources to meet them. 

Diaconate formation for permanent deacons requires completion of a comprehensive, four-year program through the Institute for Diaconal Studies or the Instituto de Liderazgo Pastoral, for Spanish speakers, both located at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. The programs include human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral dimensions of formation and a year-long parish pastoral ministry internship. The program is mandated by both the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  

Please see below for the list of this year’s candidates for the diaconate

Permanent deacons, their wives, if married, and home parishes

Deacon Sergio Campos Cruz and Rosa Maria Sanchez – San José Luis Sánchez del Río, Chicago

Deacon Miguel Cruz and Maria Guadalupe Cruz – St. Cecilia, Mount Prospect

Deacon Abel Duran Pérez and Maribel Ortiz-Garcia – Mary, Mother of Martyrs, Des Plaines

Deacon Enrique Garcia and Jovita Garcia – Our Lady of Czestochowa and Charity, Cicero

Deacon Alan Gonzalez – St. Charles Borromeo, Melrose Park

Deacon Santos and Susana Gutierrez –  Mother of the Americas, Chicago

Deacon Christopher and Binh Keefe – St. Joseph & Francis Xavier, Wilmette

Deacon Alberto Lagunas and Elvira Vazquez – San José Luis Sánchez del Río, Chicago

Deacon Ignacio Martinez and Ana Gonzalez-Aguilar – Santa María del Popolo, Mundelein

Deacon Jose and Beatriz Mata – Cristo Rey, Chicago

Deacon Jose Morales – Our Lady of Unity, Chicago

Deacon Peter and Mai Hoang Thi Pham – Holy Child Jesus, Chicago

Deacon Michael and Pamela Platt – St. Alphonsus Liguori, Prospect Heights

Deacon John and Rozanne Porter –St. Peter Damian, Bartlett

Deacon George and Kristin Schmelter – Prince of Peace, Lake Villa

Deacon Jacek and Renata Sosin – St. Thomas Becket, Mount Prospect

Deacon Emilio Trejo and Maria de la Luz Leyva Capetillo – St. Colette, Rolling Meadows 

Deacon Eduardo Vazquez and Aurora Rosas Vega – Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg

Deacon Leonardo Victor and Ma Guadalupe Delgado – Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Des Plaines

 

Transitional Deacons and their summer parish assignments

Deacon Timothy Berryhill – summer Spanish studies in Antigua, Guatemala followed by diaconate assignment at Our Lady of Mercy, Chicago

Deacon Juan Carlos Vargas Carrillo – St. Edward, Chicago

Deacon Martin Konrad Nyberg – summer Spanish studies in Antigua, Guatemala followed by diaconate assignment at St. Paul of the Cross, Park Ridge

Deacon Andrew Panzer, SJC – St. John Cantius, Chicago

 

The Archdiocese of Chicago has the largest Catholic diaconate community in the world with 500 active deacons involved in 183 parishes and agencies. Since 1972, the archdiocese has ordained 1483 men as permanent deacons. Active, retired and inactive deacons total 627, while another 68 Chicago deacons serve in dioceses around the country – from Florida to California.