Eight men who expect to be ordained as permanent deacons of the Paterson Diocese, N.J., and their wives met with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney on May 16 at St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison, N.J. The ordination is scheduled for Saturday, May 30.
Bishop Sweeney will ordain eight men from diverse backgrounds as permanent deacons of Paterson Diocese, N.J., on May 30 at 10 a.m. in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, N.J. This is the first class of permanent deacons ordained in the diocese since 2023.
Those to be ordained include Stephen Deehan of St. Luke Parish in the Long Valley of Washington Township, N.J.; Paul DePinto from St. Joseph Parish in Lincoln Park, N.J.; Timothy P. Dunmyer, representing St. Jude Parish in Hopatcong, N.J.; and James Gillespie of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Mountain Lakes, N.J. Also among them are Tobi Ippolito of Holy Family Parish in Florham Park, N.J.; Tom Kimble, who serves at St. Jude Thaddeus Parish in the Budd Lake neighborhood of Mount Olive Township, N.J.; Gregory Marchesi from St. Therese Parish in the Succasunna neighborhood of Roxbury Township, N.J.; and Elmer Lopez Maximo of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Rockaway, N.J.
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At St. Paul’s on May 16, the deacon candidates first attended a Mass celebrated by Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and education.
Then the men placed one of their hands on a bible and took an Oath of Fidelity to Church and made a Profession of Faith during a ceremony led by Deacon William J. Ruane, director of the diocesan Permanent Diaconate.
Afterwards, the deacon candidates and their wives spent time with Bishop Sweeney to get better acquainted, followed by lunch.
Bishop Sweeney called it a “blessing to spend time with our deacon candidates and their wives” on May 16 — two weeks before ordination.
“Please keep these candidates, their wives, families, and parish communities in your prayers in these days leading up to their Ordination, especially as they will be on Retreat next weekend, as the Church will be celebrating the Great Solemnity of Pentecost,” Bishop Sweeney said. “We also give thanks and continue to pray for all those who have journeyed with these men and their wives during the past five years of discernment, study, formation, and preparation,” he said.
A permanent deacon is an ordained Catholic minister, often married and working in secular jobs. Permanent deacons, not aspiring to the priesthood, serve bishops and pastors through the ministry of liturgy, word, and charity, per the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
