From The Beacon:
Bishop Serratelli ordained 13 men to the Order of Deacon June 5 in St. Peter the Apostle Church here, which was filled to capacity with many diocesan priests and deacons, the families and friends of the new pernament deacons, and the faithful of the Paterson Diocese.The 13 permanent deacons — William Aquino of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Highland Lakes; Nicholas Ardito of Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley; John Brandi of Assumption Parish, Morristown; William DeVizio of St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish, Chester; Dennis Gil of St. Francis de Sales Parish in McAfee section of Vernon; James Jones of Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley; Vincent LoBello of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Whippany; James McGovern of Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Sparta; Kevin McKeever of St. Simon the Apostle Parish, Green Pond; Jose Padron of St. Therese Parish, Succasunna; James Rizos of St. Mary Parish, Denville; Elliot Stein of Assumption Parish, Morristown; and German Vargas of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson — bring a wide range of work and ministry experience to the parishes and people they will serve. In his greeting, Bishop Serratelli said, “We gather with great joy as 13 men will be ordained to the diaconate with service to the Church of Paterson. What a great gift, what a priceless treasure the Lord is giving us tonight. We know from the Acts of the Apostles, that as the Church grew in those first years, the Apostles called worthy men and handed on the gifts of the ministry to them and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit chose those first seven deacons, the Holy Spirit chose these 13 men for that same order. For five years they have been preparing to enter the service of the Church and we thank them for accepting this call and we thank their wives and their families for supporting them.” Bishop Serratelli was main celebrant and homilist for the Mass and presided over the Rite of Ordination. Concelebrants of the Mass included pastors of the candidates and priests from around the diocese. At the Mass, deacons assisted and many of the newly ordained deacons’ wives took part in the celebration as readers, gift bearers and servers. In his homily, Bishop Serratelli said, “No matter what our talents are, the dedicated use of what we make of them for a noble purpose matters most. Our brothers who are about to be ordained have many talents that they are now putting to the service of the Church. God has called them to assist in the holy work of offering worthy service to God both in liturgy and in life — both in the sanctuary and the streets of our cities. The dedication required of them is the total gift of self.”
Congratulations and welcome, brothers! Ad multos annos!
And today we celebrate...