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ASPIRANT MINISTRY
Aspirants are expected to have been involved in non-liturgical parochial ministry and will be expected to remain active in at least one non-liturgical ministry throughout the term of the diaconate formation program. The specific ministry assignment will be monitored and directed by the diaconate formation staff.
QUALIFICATIONS
At the time of application, those seeking admission to the diaconate formation program must meet the following standards:
- Be a fully initiated Catholic – baptized and confirmed
- Have a vibrant and living Catholic faith as evidenced in daily life
- If a convert, must have been baptized or received into the Catholic Church for at least five years.
- If married, be in a valid sacramental marriage not less than five years.
- Have a stable marriage and family life
- Have the support of his wife and children
- Have a high school education, GED or higher degree
- Be in good physical and psychological health
- Be sponsored by a parish with pastor’s endorsement
- Be involved in non-liturgical parish ministry
- At the time of admission to the period of Aspirancy, the applicant must be at least 31 years old
- Must be a maximum age of 60 years old
DEMONSTRATED HISTORY OF SERVICE
Those selected to become aspirants will be individuals with a history of service in the Church beyond altar ministries. Serving as lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and other roles of liturgical ministry, while important, are not considered when evaluating applicants for admission. It must always be remembered that formation for the diaconate does not make a servant. One must first be a servant to be a genuine deacon.
ADMISSION
The admission of aspirants to the formation process for the permanent diaconate involves a rigorous process of application, interview, scrutiny, evaluation, discernment and the successful completion of the inquiry phase. The goal of this process is to discern which men are called by the Church to a vocation of permanent ordained service to the Church. The process includes the following steps:
- Contacting the Office of the Permanent Diaconate for an initial inquiry
- Completing the inquiry phase
- Submitting the written application and spouse’s application
- Obtain letters of recommendation from the pastor and others
- Review of application materials and possible impediments, followed by an invitation to interview or a formal decline of the application
- Psychological evaluation of the Candidate
- Interview of the spouse
- Admission to Aspirancy. Note that Aspirancy is a one year period of formal discernment prior to the admission to Candidacy for the diaconate. Admission to Aspirancy does not assure admission to Candidacy for the diaconate. Applicants may be informed that they will not be admitted to the program at any point in the admission or formation processes.