Bishop Christopher Jones, who officiated at the historic ordination ceremony of six permanent deacons at the weekend in Sligo.

Curraghboy man ordained a deacon in historic ceremony

A local man was one of a group of six to be ordained a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Elphin at the weekend. William Gacquin from Curraghboy, will now be able to assist a priest at Mass, officiate at weddings, baptisms and funerals following the historic ceremony at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo on Saturday. William, and the other five men, undertook a four-year, intensive programme of academic study and spiritual, human and pastoral formation. They are all married, in full-time employment and come from all corners of the diocese. The historic ceremony, officiated by Bishop Christopher Jones, saw the six men ordained to the Order of Deacon. In the Catholic Church, there are three degrees within the Sacrament of Holy Orders: bishops, priests and deacons. In recent centuries, the Order of Deacon within the Roman Rite tended to be seen as a step towards becoming a priest. However, in the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council restored the Permanent Diaconate as a distinct ministry of service. Permanent deacons are men, married or single, who carry out this ministry of service. First and foremost, the deacon is ordained to serve as a visible sign of Christ who came to serve rather than to be served. Speaking after the ceremony on behalf of the newly ordained, Deacon William Gacquin emphasised that "it is indeed an historic and a special day in the life of the Church in Elphin and in our own lives also. On behalf of the newly ordained deacons it is indeed fitting that we express our thanks first and foremost to Almighty God for the privilege of being called to serve his Church." He went on to express the thanks of the newly ordained deacons to Bishop Jones for ordaining them and in particular for his "inspirational leadership in promoting the reintroduction of the Permanent Diaconate to the diocese." He also thanked all the priests and people of the diocese who have been so supportive of the diaconate. Turning to family and friends present he ended by stating: "Our final words of thanks are probably the most important and that is to sincerely thank our families who have been so supportive of us on our journey and whose support we will rely on into the future. We come from a variety of family backgrounds so we thank our parents, children, brothers and sisters and we express our deepest thanks to each of our wives Endelina, Trish, Louise, Meg, Teresa and Carmel".