By Chris Spoons
Staff writer

Talk about constancy: J. Frank Marquez has served as a deacon at St. Pascal Parish, Chicago, for 30 years. It was his first—and only—assignment since being ordained in the first class of permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

That group, the Class of ’72, marks its 30th anniversary Dec. 10.

Looking back at the 30 years of the diaconate in the Archdiocese of Chicago—which today has more than 600 members, the largest diocesan group in the world—Marquez says he is glad he is part of it.

In 1970, more than 150 men applied for that first class; 97 were ordained two years later. The program of educational and ministerial preparation now takes four years. Of that first class, 38 remain active.

Before those in that first class were ordained, Deacon John Pistone—now director of the archdiocesan diaconate formation program—said Cardinal Cody told them: “You are an experiment.” But it was, Pistone said, an experiment that has “grown and produced a dynamic ministry in the church.” Today the program continues to be racially and culturally diverse, serving broad segments of the archdiocese.

Marquez remembers well. “The biggest challenge was finding the time to address the needs of my family, especially my children,” he explained. “I wanted to help them with their homework and spend time with them in the evenings. That’s when I learned how to prioritize my life” in the following order: family, community, work.

That continues to be a theme of the ministry of deacons, most of whom are married with families and hold down full-time jobs outside the church.

Diaconal ministries are varied, but with a common thread: service. In parishes, deacons today might minister with groups serving the poor, or those in prison. Some will preach, teach or perform other services. Most will be involved with sacramental preparation including marriages and baptisms or other religious education.

The Order of Deacon, ordained but separate from the priesthood, was restored by the Second Vatican Council. The council determined that there was a role for an official church minister as a deacon. In 1968 the order was restored and opened to men, married or single, over the age of 35.

“The calling back in 1969 was very questionable because we didn’t know what the diaconate was, but I felt that the Lord was calling me to something,” said Pistone. He also served a stint in Washington as executive director of the U.S. Bishops Committee on the Diaconate.

“It has been a wonderful journey, a constant source of joy and a challenge as we moved through these past 30 years,” Pistone said. “The diaconate worked its way through some challenges and became an important part of parish life.”

Pistone said deacons are called to be involved in three areas in parish life: ministry of the word, by teaching, preaching and leading retreats; ministry of the liturgy, by assisting the celebrant at Mass, baptizing, witnessing marriages and presiding at funerals and communion services; and the ministry of charity, by working in prisons, shelters and soup kitchens.

“Because of the work deacons do people have come to see them as a model of the kind of work all are called to do,” Pistone said. “The primary purpose is to invite, support and encourage all the baptized to participate in ministry.”

Father Ed Salmon, vicar for the diaconate, said, “During World War II, the genesis of the Catholic diaconate as we now have it began in the Dachau prison camp. Ministers started talking about how to serve one another. After the war men would come together to study about the ministry and prepare for when this might come about.”

Finally in 1967, he said, Pope Paul VI approved its reestablishment. National bishops conferences could decide if they wanted to begin programs. “Obviously the Holy Spirit was working,” Salmon said, because in 1968 the U.S. Bishops gave the go-ahead and Chicago was among the first to establish a program.

“There were 97 men ordained in the first class,” he said. “Deacons have gone on from there to do some magnificent work.” He passed along a few examples:

Deacon Jim Flewellen, who serves at St. Thaddeus Church in Chicago, became the first African American to serve as chaplain in the federal prison system.

“I became a chaplain in 1985,” he said. “The experience took me all over the country for the next 10 years. Wherever they have a need for you, you go.” During his work in the prison system, Flewellen met with Death Row inmates. “It was no different than meeting with regular inmates,” he explained. “Some had made up their mind to accept what was going to happen to them. Others were destitute and wanted to be involved with religion.”

Although he kept it in perspective, Flewellen said those meetings did have an effect on him. “I would bring some of it home,” he said. “It would wallow around in my mind knowing that a life would be taken. I did a lot of soul-searching myself.”

The diaconate program itself has evolved over the past 30 years. “The training is now more demanding and more content-filled,” said Pistone, who is based at Mundelein Seminary. “The need has grown because bishops are expecting more from their deacons.”

The wives of those to be ordained are now more involved in the program. “They need to be because the husband being ordained a deacon affects their marriage and family life, hopefully in a positive way,” Pistone explained. “A man is not ordained unless his wife gives her full consent.”

“Knowing you’re involved in it all is breathtaking,” Flewellen said. “It’s all exciting. From birth to death, you go through all the cycles.” Marquez agrees: “I think what I do serves the kingdom of God on earth.”

The Class of 1972 will celebrate its anniversary Nov. 30 from 4-7 p.m. at Marcello’s Restaurant, 645 W. North Ave., Chicago. For information on the diaconate program, call Deacon John Pistone at (847) 837-4564.