Bishop McManus to Ordain 5 Permanent Deacons and 5 Transitional Deacons

May 23, 2014 WORCESTER, MA – On Saturday, May 31 at 10:00 am at the Cathedral of St. Paul, Worcester, Most Rev. Robert J. McManus, S.T.D., will ordain five men to the permanent diaconate and four men to the transitional diaconate for the Diocese of Worcester. All are welcome to the ordination Mass. The ceremony will be delay broadcast on Charter TV 3 on Sunday, June 1 at 1:00 pm and Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 am.

The five men to be permanent deacons are Paul R. Connolly, Dominick F. DeMartino, Richard A Menard, III, Peter Quy Nguyen, and Quat Van Tran. (pictured in order below)


The five men to be ordained transitional deacons, in preparation for the priesthood, are Andres Araque, Daniel Moreno, Juan Ramirez and Stephen Lundrigan and Brother Ronald Sibugan, AA. (pictured in order below)

Ordination is also referred to as Holy Orders and has three grades. The first grade is deacon, or the diaconal order. Ordination to the diaconate confers the clerical state upon the ordinand, or one who is ordained. At that time he is also incardinated into (belonging to) the particular diocese or religious institute, according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

Transitional deacons are those men preparing for the priesthood, (the presbyteral order). Men who are later ordained bishops (episcopal order), are ordained “in the fullness of orders” of the priesthood according to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, and share in the apostolic mission going back to the first apostles.

Permanent deacons share the same diaconal functions as transitional deacons but may be married or not. They do not continue on to priesthood. It was restored in 1968 by the Bishops in the United States following a reestablishment of the Order by Vatican Council II the previous year. For centuries prior to that time, the Order of Deacon had been reserved to a temporary status on the road to priesthood.

Diaconate comes from the Greek word diakonia or service. Since all Catholics are called by Baptism to be of service to their brothers and sisters, why have an ordained ministry of service? Though this is a very complex question, which has generated much discussion, two important points must be stressed. Service to the community is the primary role of the deacon and by bearing witness to the ministry of service in a parish, he assists the whole community in becoming more aware of that aspect of their faith. Secondly, the order of deacon sacramentalizes service. The deacon as an ordained servant of the community is more than a functionary but bears witness to that aspect of Jesus and his ministry in apostolic times.

Shared Ministry as Deacons

By virtue of their ordination, transitional deacons and permanent deacons assist the priests and bishops in the celebration of the Mass as ordinary ministers of Holy Communion, in proclaiming the Gospel, and by preaching. They also assist at and bless marriages, can preside over funerals and wake services, and are dedicated to various works of charity in living out their call to service.

Biographies

Paul R. Connolly resides in Oxford and is a member of St. Roch Parish in the same town. He attended Norfolk County Agricultural School, Boston University and Anna Maria College. He is a field service specialist for Xerox Corporation. He and his wife Kerry have a son. Paul served in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Know and Fort Carson. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Sunday, June 1 at St. Roch Church with Fr. Michael Roy, pastor, as celebrant.

Dominick F. DeMartino resides in Brookfield with his wife, Linda. They have two adult children and one grandchild and are members of St. Joseph Parish, Charlton. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he attended Richland High School in Johnstown, PA and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, from which he received a BS in Physics in 1983. He is senior components engineer at Bose Corporation. A Mass of Thanksgiving will take place on June 1 at St. Joseph Church, Charlton with Rev. Robert Grattaroti as principal celebrant, who will be joined by other priests.

Another member of St. Joseph Parish, Charlton, Richard A. Menard, III resides in Sturbridge with his wife Diane and their three children. He attended Shepherd Hill Regional High School in Dudley and Quinsigamond Community College . He holds a BS in Criminal Justice and an MA in Pastoral Ministry from Anna Maria College. Lieutenant Menard serves on the Becker College police Department. A Mass of Thanksgiving will be held on June 8 at St. Joseph Church, Charlton with Rev. Robert Grattaroti as principal celebrant.

Peter Quy Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam and is currently resides in Worcester, where he is a parishioner of St. Peter Parish with his wife June and their three children. He attended North High School in Worcester, holds a B.S. and M.S. from UMASS Amherst, and a Masters in Pastoral Ministry from Anna Maria College. He is a Math Teacher in the Worcester Public Schools. Masses of Thanksgiving will take place on June 1 with Rev. Tam Bui at Our Lady of Vilna and on June 8 at 9 am with Monsignor Francis Scollen at St. Peter Church.

Born in Thahn Hoa, Vietnam and also living in Worcester, Quat Van Tran and his wife Kim are members of Our Lady of Vilna Parish, Worcester. They have three children. He attended high school in Vietnam and studied at Northeastern University and Worcester State College. He is working toward a Masters in Pastoral Ministry from Anna Maria College. He retired as a Worcester public school teacher where he continues to be an interpreter and is also a substitute teacher in Marlboro Public Schools. A Mass of Thanksgiving will take place on June 1 at our Lady of Vilna Church with Rev. Tam Bui as celebrant.

Andres Araque is a seminarian at St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, MD. Born and educated in Medellin, Colombia, he is the younger of two children. Before entering the seminary in Colombia, he was a parish Religious Education director at Santo Cura de Ars Parish. He attended Sacred Heart Minor Seminary and Pontifical Bolivarian University in Medellin, Colombia. In the US, he attended Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies and Clark University before entering St. Mary Seminary. His summer assignments have been at St. Paul, Blackstone, his home parish, and Our Lady of the Rosary, Gardner, St. Anne, Southboro, St. Patrick, Whitinsville, and Good Shepherd, Linwood.

Daniel Moreno is a seminarian at St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, MD. Born in Medellin-Antioquia, Colombia, he attended Tecnico Industrial Pascual Bravo High School and Pontifical University Bolivariana in Medellin. In the US, he attended Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies and Clark University before entering St. Mary Seminary. His summer assignments included St. Louis, Webster, his home parish, as well as St. Anthony, Dudley and St. Anthony, Fitchburg. He also worked for three years with deaf communities signing the mass for them and teaching. In the US, he attended Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies and Clark University before entering St. Mary Seminary.

Juan Ramirez was born in Medellin, Colombia and has three brothers. He is a seminarian at St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, MD. In Colombia he attended Santa Elena High School and studied Microbiology at Universidad de Antioquia, as well as at San Pio X Major Seminary. In the US, he attended Holy Name of Jesus House of Studies and Clark University before entering St. Mary Seminary. His summer assignments included St. Anthony of Padua, Fitchburg, his home parish, and St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester.

Stephen Lundrigan is a seminarian at St. John Seminary, Brighton, MA. Born in Springfield, Mass., he attended Marianhill Central Catholic High School in Southbridge, and received a bachelor’s in psychology from St. Anselm College and a Master’s Degree in counseling psychology from Assumption College before entering the seminary. His home parish is Our Lady of the Angels, Worcester. This summer he will be serving at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fitchburg. A Mass of Thanksgiving will take place on June 1 at 10:30 am at Our Lady of the Angels, Worcester.

Brother Ronald Sibugan, AA was born in the Philippines and brought up in Manila. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in 2000 and worked in that field in the Philippines and Taiwan. He also did missionary work in Pampanga, teaching religious education, high school math, literacy and served in college ministry. He met the Augustinians of the Assumption (Assumptionists) in the Philippines and came here in 2004 to discern a vocation as a religious. He holds Masters of Divinity in Philosophy and in Theology from Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. In 2013 he made his final vows as an Assumptionist at Assumption College, where we serves in campus ministry. He will assist at the 4:15 pm Mass on May 31 at St. John Parish, Worcester, with the local Filipino community. There