Called to Service: What is the Permanent Diaconate?

Who is the Deacon? He is a Minister of the Word; a Minister at the Altar; and a Minister of Charity While all the baptized are called to share in the mission of Jesus Christ according to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, those who are ordained also offer service in a way proper to the Sacrament of Holy Orders. A deacon's ministry entails proclaiming, preaching and teaching God's Word, assisting the bishop and priest at the Liturgy, assisting at funerals, ministering to the sick and dying, leading the community in prayer and in sacramental liturgies, baptizing, witnessing marriages, and exercising administrative leadership in the Church. A permanent deacon, who may be married, is a member of the clergy and shares in the hierarchy of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. By virtue of his ordination, the deacon assists the bishop and collaborates with his pastor in the service of the parish to which he is assigned. He is not a substitute for the priest, nor is he a lay liturgical minister. He is an ordained member of the clergy. And it is through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, that the deacon is configured to Christ the Servant. It is Christ the Servant who acts through the ministry of the deacon.