Because 12 Ain't Enough

We're getting another deacon. On Friday seminarian Matt Capadano will be ordained a transitional deacon and will join us in June, living with Fr. Vogel. In the fall he will return to Mount St. Mary Seminary in Maryland before, God willing, being ordained a priest next summer.

Matt says he is "excited" to spend the summer with us serving as clergy in a "hopefully forgiving parish." He doesn't know quite what Fr. Damian and Dcn. Lauber have planned for him or what to expect, but he is approaching the summer with an open heart and mind.

Before he even knew he was spending the summer with us, he asked Dcn John Norman to vest him at the ordination Mass. Then Dcn. Capadano will be the Deacon of the Altar at then Fr. Norman's First Mass on June 2nd. So we shall get a preview of him before he joins us for the summer.

This means that, for the summer, Deacon Graef won't be our most recently ordained deacon and Deacon Krueger won't be our youngest.

Please do welcome Deacon Capadano when he joins us this summer.

Deacon Norman helped us out today

In the sacristy before Mass
Fr. Steve: Do you know everything you're supposed to do?
Dcn. Norman: No.

Since Deacon John Norman was ordained, today was his first chance to celebrate Mass with us. (He arrived home from Rome last night.)

 

As he proclaimed the Gospel ...

 ... his parents made sure he got it all right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We're delighted to have him around. Hopefully you'll get a chance to see him before he returns to Rome to continue seminary.

Is this my house?

Fr Damian was in Rome for Deacon John Norman's ordination. If he makes his connection in Paris, he will be home today. When he arrives all jet lagged he may wonder, "Is this my house?"

It's been planned to put siding on his house and it just worked out while he was gone. So above is a before picture from the church parking lot side of his house before the change and below is after.

 

The picture above shows why the work was needed and below is the after picture.

So hopefully Fr. Damian recognizes it when he gets here.

Deacon John Norman

Yesterday morning, as things get ready to go in St. Peter's, one of our own parishioners, John Norman, was among the deacon-candidates enter into a prayerful state. Yesterday John was ordained a deacon in Rome where he has been in seminary at the North American Pontifical College.

Wednesday night John and his family were at a vigil where the entire college is asked for the special intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, to speak to her Son on the behalf of the deacon candidates for their lives to be filled with all of the graces they will need to serve the Church and Her people.

 Thursday morning it was time to get ready.

 

During the ordination Mass, the candidates lie prostrate on the floor as the Litany of Saints is sung asking for the intercession of those saints for the men about to be ordained.

 Above are the stoles and dalmatics waiting

 to be worm by the new deacons.

 Above is one of the first pictures of the

 newly ordained Deacon John Norman.

The nearly three-hour ceremony at the St. Peter Basilica’s Altar of the Chair was presided over by Archbishop John F. Myers of Newark. The ordinations coincided with the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, who was ordained deacon but never a priest. Here is a picture of the 33 newly ordained deacons.

Congratulations John!