Deacons old and new

By WILLIAM T. CLEW
The Catholic Free Press

    The permanent diaconate, restored to the Catholic Church on Sept. 29, 1964, by the Second Vatican Council, became a reality for the Diocese of Worcester on June 24, 1978, with the ordination of 20 permanent deacons at St. Paul Cathedral.
    The permanent diaconate was approved on Jan 13, 1976 for the Worcester Diocese. A class of 28 candidates began studies in September that year. Of than number, 26 were Catholic and two were not Catholic.
Of the two who were not Catholic, one was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church and the other was ordained a deacon at Trinity Lutheran Church, according to a news article in The Catholic Free Press. Because of the makeup of the class, the Worcester diocesan training program was believed to be the first in the world with ecumenical overtones.
Twenty Catholic candidates who completed the course of studies were ordained by Bishop Flanagan. With that ordination they became members of the clergy, who can preach, distribute Communion, perform baptisms and officiate at marriages. They cannot celebrate Mass, hear Confessions or anoint the sick. Father Paul J. Tougas was named Permanent Diaconate  program director.
The Catholic Free Press story about the new deacons said, “Their service in the Worcester Diocese will be part time and they will receive neither salary or stipend. The deacons will wear no distinguishing clothing such as the clerical collar, Father Tougas explained. They will continue to be employed  in a wide range of occupations.
“In the ordination class many occupations are represented. There is a dentist, a foreman, a mill service supervisor, a child care worker, a bookbinder, a newspaper circulation manager, a hospital plant engineer, an assistant middle school principal, civil and industrial engineers and office and store managers.
“The typical deacon in the 1978 class is a high school graduate and is married with four children. One of the candidates is a widower. Their median age is 49. The youngest is 34 and the oldest 68. Combined they have 77 children and 35 grandchildren.”
Roland Michaud, 75, of Webster, now retired from the active diaconate, was a member of that first diaconate class. He grew up in Fall River and was always a church-going, good Catholic, he said.     
He entered the diaconate program because, he said, God had healed his wife, Brenda, who had been sick for some time. He wanted to do something for God in return.
“God was real to us and we wanted to do more for God,” he said.
After his ordination he served at Notre Dame Parish in Southbridge. He said that the people gave him a warm welcome and the priests at Notre Dame were welcoming and very helpful. Diaconate studies, which continue for five years now, lasted just two years then.
“That’s not a lot of training, so I learned a lot on the job,” he said.     
He said he visited hospitals and nursing homes, ministered to families and “did about 500 baptisms,” in the 10 years he spent at Notre Dame.
“I did whatever they needed me to do,” he said.
That continued when he moved to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Webster, where he served for 20 years. He took a year’s leave of absence, then moved to Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Hopedale, where he served for two more years until he retired.
He said his wife is happy to have him back. For 32 years she sat alone at Mass as he assisted at the altar. He now sits with her at Mass. They have two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He still works as a civil engineer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
He said that, in retirement, he leads an intercessory prayer group at Sacred Heart which also prays the Rosary and discusses spiritual life. He said he also just started an eight-week-long “Life in the Spirit” seminar at Sacred Heart and evangelizes wherever he goes.
As for his retirement as a deacon he said, “I retired, but I never quit when it comes to serving God. He still uses me.”
 Deacon Paul Covino, who was ordained a deacon June 3, 2017, is director of liturgy at Assumption College.
He said the college, while not an official parish in the diocese, has many of the characteristics of a parish, except that the “parishioners” are mostly 18 to 22 years old.
Deacon Covino has been involved with the Catholic Church all his life.  He attended St. Mary Elementary School and St. John High School, both in Shrewsbury, and went on to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he earned a degree in philosophy with a minor in theology.
He then earned a master’s degree in theology with a concentration in liturgical research from the University of Notre Dame. He then worked as a residence hall chaplain at Georgetown, and an associate liturgy director at the Georgetown Center for Liturgy. He also was director of liturgy at a church in Washington, D.C., at a parish in Arlington, Mass., and in the summer program at Boston College.
He said he considered becoming a priest but in the last weeks of his senior year in high school he had met a young woman from Notre Dame Academy named Anne Hallisey.
They went their separate ways after high school, he said, then met again when she became a student at Georgetown. He said he still was thinking about the priesthood. But then he found he could do ministry in the Church as a lay person and that solved that problem. They married and have four sons, now adults.
Deacon Covino worked at the College of the Holy Cross for 21 years as a director of liturgy and a chaplain. He said he felt God led him to become a deacon when he went on a retreat.
“If you don’t want God to change your life, don’t go on a retreat,” he said.
Because of his background, his work as a campus minister and his  degree in theology, he was allowed to complete his studies for the diaconate in three  years rather than the usual five. In fact, he had taught some classes in the diaconate program before he went into it.
As deacon at Assumption he assists at the two weekend Masses on campus, one at 7 a.m. and one at 7 p.m., reads the Gospel and, once a month, preaches a homily. He also has witnessed a few weddings.



Elephant stew, anyone?

By WILLIAM T. CLEW
The Catholic Free Press
“One medium-sized elephant.”
That’s the way one recipe, for elephant stew,  begins in a cookbook published by the diaconate program of the Worcester Diocese. The recipe doesn’t say whether it should be an African or Asian elephant. That decision  apparently is left to the chef.
The cookbook is called, “A Taste of the Diaconate: Celebrating 40 Years 1978 to 2018.” Michelle Deignan, whose husband, Kevin, is a deacon at Immaculate Conception Parish in Worcester, put the cookbook together. She said it took 60 hours.
The cover, which she designed, includes pictures of a deacon’s pin and a spouse’s pin. The first page of the book contains some short, direct advice: “Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach.”
There are 143 recipes, she said. The table of contents lists the recipes by category, i.e. Appetizers & Beverages, Soups & Salads, Vegetables & Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Breads & Rolls, Desserts, Cookies & Candy and This & That. Each category begins with a list of hints.There is an index of contributors, an index of recipes and a final section of general culinary information.
All but one of the recipes are from deacons, their wives and their families. Instructions on how to put the ingredients together, and sometimes a comment, are included along with the name or names of the contributors.
That one recipe, for Elephant Stew, is attributed to “Author Unknown.”  It calls for 1 medium-sized elephant, brown gravy to cover, salt and pepper to taste, 2 rabbits, optional.
“Cut elephant into bite-sized pieces,” it advises. “This should take about 2 months. Add gravy and cook about 4 weeks at 463 degrees. This will serve about 3,800 people. If more are expected, 2 rabbits may be added , but do this only if necessary as most people do not like to find hare in their stew. NOTE: This recipe has not been kitchen-tested; we cannot guarantee results.”
Mrs. Deignan said she has put together three cookbooks and that recipe has been in each one of them.
Many of the instructions are straightforward. But some have a more personal touch.
Here are a couple of examples.
Deacon Chris Finan of St. Patrick Parish, Whitinsville submitted one from eight-year-old Patrick Finan, a Boy Scout. It is for  “Patrick’s French Toast Smiles.” It lists the ingredients and instructions for preparation. Then it suggests cutting up a banana and strawberries to make a nose and eyes on the toast slice and “add a chocolate chip smile. And eat,eat, eat and eat some more.”
Deacon Paul Dacri of St. John Parish, Worcester, claims his recipe is for “awesome gravy.” He lists ingredients and instructions, but when he comes to seasoning with salt, pepper, basil and parsley he says, “Don’t ask how much. I’m Italian and I don’t measure!” He promises “the experience will be life-lasting!!”
He then follows his gravy recipe with a little marketing. He says the meatballs made with his “secret meatball recipe” should be cooked after some of Deacon Paul’s Wicked Gravy is poured over them.
The diocese will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Worcester Diocesan Diaconate June 16 at St. Joan of Arc Parish. Deacons may pick up copies of the cookbook to sell at their parishes.
“Deacons give so much of themselves to the parishes that people want to give back to the deacons,” Mrs. Deignan said.
Proceeds from the sale of the cookbooks will benefit the diaconate. Those wishing more information may call the diocesan Office of the Diaconate at 508-929-4335.