The bishop of Kerry, Dr Bill Murphy, has formally launched a new lay diaconate ministry to recruit volunteers to supplement the work of his dwindling number of working clergy. The bishop launched his Ministry of Permanent Deacons at Masses on Sunday and named Canon Eoin Mangan of Knocknagoshel as the director for the diocese’s permanent diaconate.
The project aims to attract "men of faith" who will be ordained deacons and help the ministry in parishes around the diocese.
Prospective recruits can be either married or single, provided they are aged between 35 and 60 if they are married and between 25 and 60 if they are single. Single men will be required to take a vow of celibacy and all recruits to the deaconate will have to undertake a four-year study and preparation course, which will include training in theology and scripture.
One they are ordained, the deacons will help with the preparation for the sacraments and be qualified to officiate at baptisms, wedding and funeral liturgies. They will also be involved in the distribution of the Eucharist at Mass and will be qualified to preside at Benedictions and other services.
Deacons will also be engaged in pastoral work such as visits to sick or housebound people and ministering to the poor or marginalised.
Last week, a spokesperson for Kerry diocese said the ministry would be seeking men of "faith and good character" who were willing to give the time and effort in undergoing the formation programme.
In the early centuries of the Church, there were three distinct ministries, viz. bishops, priests and deacons, but over time the Diaconate disappeared as an active ministry and came to be seen as a stepping stone on the route to becoming a priest. However, the Second Vatican Council decided to restore it as a distinct ministry.
In recent years, a number of Irish dioceses have launched the lay diaconate as part of their response to the pressure of work on clergy in the wake of the vocations crisis.
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