Together with two other Deacon couples from our Diocese, Deacon Frank and Rose Averill, Deacon Scott and Mary Beth Moore, Patty and myself, experienced a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Our pilgrimage included a two-day stop in Assisi, which is a mandatory stop for any Catholic visiting Italy. Assisi is a small medieval town, where Saint Francis of Assisi was born and live most of his life. Everything in Assisi transpires Saint Francis and I would say that everything in Saint Francis transpires a deacon's heart– serving the poor like a humble servant. There are many diaconal aspects of St. Francis’s ministry that are very applicable to the ministry of the Deacons nowadays. 

On Friday, after our visit to Assisi we were headed to Rome, where the Jubilee of Deacons formally opened across twelve churches in Rome. The afternoon started with a welcome and common recitation of Midday Prayer, followed by catechesis on the theme “Concrete signs of Hope in the Diaconal Ministry” delivered by twelve bishops in different language groups. Cardinal Robert Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, gave the English-speaking group’s presentation. 

On the Saturday, at the Auditorium Conciliazone, over 1,400 participants gathered for an International Meeting, organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy, and were welcomed by its Prefect, His Eminence Cardinal H.E. Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung Sik.  There followed ‘Testimonies from the Continents’ giving a world-wide ‘snapshot’ of the permanent diaconate, with reports from Germany, United States, Brazil, Rwanda, Lebanon, and elsewhere. 

During the presentation, there was no doubt that the restored diaconate has been hugely successful all over the World, especially in places like North America, where we have experienced a steady growth over the last 50+ years. Most deacons have reported being highly satisfied with their ministry and very encouraged to advise others to also pursue the diaconal vocation. For the most part, the deacons themselves find great satisfaction in their parish work, their pastors who are their supervisors find them increasingly indispensable, and the lay parish leaders view the deacons as increasingly necessary aides and helpers to their busy priests.

On Saturday afternoon, all those attending had the opportunity to walk across St Peter’s square, or Piazza San Pietro, praying and reflecting on the Stations of the Cross, as we made our way through the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. 

This was a very spiritual and emotional moment for some of us, using the words of the secretary’s final speech: "How beautiful it is to cross the Holy Door! How beautiful it is to open, even more beautiful, to throw open the doors of our lives, of our communities, of our cultures and families to Christ the Redeemer!" 

The day concluded with an evening Prayer Vigil in Paul VI Hall, where we not only did pray together, but also were able to renew our Diaconal promises, we were not expecting this. Especially, they included a renewal also for our wives. This was like what we do at the Mass of Recommitment, which always brings a feeling of newness, freshness, and renewal.

On Sunday, we attended the Mass, which originally was supposed to be presided by Pope Francis, at St Peter’s Basilica. We were asked to arrive to the Paul VI Audience Hall to vest very early, we received two stoles: a white one and a green one, and were told to vest and get ready to start the procession.

This was presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect for New Evangelization with the Dicastery for Evangelization, in the absence of Pope Francis, ill in the hospital. During the Mass 23 men from eight countries were ordained as permanent deacons.  Fisichella highlighted the pope’s spiritual presence in the celebration, noting that while physically absent, his message resonated deeply through the Basilica where “communion takes on its fullest and most meaningful dimension.”

Prayers were said for Pope Francis, and Archbishop Fisichella delivered the homily prepared by Pope Francis, in which he reflected on three essential dimensions of the diaconate: forgiveness, service and communion.

The Pope’s message called deacons to see their ministry as transformative both for themselves and society. “Through your ministry, you devote yourselves to being ‘sculptors’ and ‘painters’ of the merciful face of the Father, and witnesses to the mystery of the Triune God,” the homily declared. Pope Francis asked that deacons make selfless service “an essential dimension of your very being” and encourages them to serve with humility, as the day’s Gospel from Luke said, to “do good and lend, expecting nothing in return.” 

Now that I have had time to reflect about this Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, it was for me an unforgettable lifetime experience, especially because on this day, my wife and I were celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary. So, for me, this day was a gift from God where I was able to celebrate the union of my two vocations– my diaconal vocation and my covenant with my wife. Two big "Yeses", two calls to service, and with the gift of my two kids, two of the most important blessings that I have received from God in my life.

The Mass was the closing event of the Deacon’s Jubilee, but our pilgrimage continued. During the next days we visited different sites in Rome including the other three Holy Doors, inaugurated by Pope Francis for the 2025 Jubilee. The 2025 Jubilee Holy Doors are located at St Peter's Basilica, San Giovanni in Laterano, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Saint Paul's Outside the Walls. A Holy Door is the most powerful sign of the Jubilee, since the aim of the pilgrim is to pass through it.

To conclude, I would like to share an extract from a talk we had on Saturday from Don Dario Vitale also from the Dicastery, taken from the final dismissal at every Mass: Ite Missa est! He sends all the deacons of the world to be examples of charity:

"Ite, Ecclesia, missa est: Go, the Church is sent! Deacons of the Church of God, may your ministry, before and after the celebration, be a sign and instrument capable of making people understand that, after the table of the Word and the Eucharistic Table, the Table of life begins, set with the fragrant bread of charity that you, more than others and as an example for all, are called to serve."