The 14 men who will be ordained permanent deacons for the Diocese of Harrisburg in September made a vow of fidelity to Christ and the Church on Saturday with the Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity during Evening Prayer.
Gathered with their wives and formators in the Diocesan Center’s chapel, the men professed their loyalty to the Church by reciting the Profession of Faith. Then, they made a solemn commitment to live out their diaconal ministry by reading and signing the Oath of Fidelity in the presence of Bishop Timothy Senior.
During the oath, the men placed their hand on their Bible, held by their wives, and promised to “always preserve communion with the Catholic Church, by the words I speak or in the way I act.”
They also promised to “preserve the deposit of faith in its entirety and hand it on faithfully and make it shine forth.”
“With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the responsibilities by which I am bound…both to the universal Church and to the particular church in which I am called to exercise my service,” they said in the oath.
The Oath of Fidelity is a declaration of loyalty to the Catholic Church and her teachings and is required by Canon Law for all who are called to Holy Orders.
The 14 candidates will be ordained to the permanent diaconate on September 12 at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg. Please pray for these men as they prepare to receive Holy Orders. The candidates and their home parishes are:
Louis E. Carlson – St. Theresa Parish, New Cumberland
Stephen J. Dietrich – St. Patrick Parish, York
Edward DiPilla – St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Quarryville
Richard B. Druby – Holy Spirit Parish, Palmyra
Carlos Espinosa – Corpus Christi Parish, Chambersburg
Jeffrey F. Evich – St. Joseph Parish, Hanover
Rudolph K. Geisler – St. Joseph Parish, Mechanicsburg
Michael A. Heidelbaugh – Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Enola
Samuel Nicola – Our Lady of Hope Parish, Coal Township
Michael P. Nowakowski – Good Shepherd Parish, Camp Hill
Douglas E. Peterson – Holy Name of Jesus Parish, Harrisburg
John A. Soubik – Mother Cabrini Parish, Shamokin
Mark A. Sullivan – St. Columba Parish, Bloomsburg, and the Christ the King, Benton
Michael D. Tafelski – Holy Trinity Parish, Columbia
The Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity they made on July 17 was the culmination of a day of formation and individual meetings with Bishop Senior for the men and their wives. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and dinner concluded the day.
“The whole five years of formation has been such a blessing,” said Edward DiPilla. “It has opened up a whole new world for us, with the bonds we share in the cohort and with our formators, and the bonds our wives have made with each other. We are bubbling with joy.”
When the cohort formed in 2021, ordination seemed like a long way off, he said. “At the start of this journey, we were thinking, ‘Wow, five years of formation.’ But now I look back and think that it didn’t seem so long. It’s been a tremendous blessing, and an experience that has deepened our prayer lives and made us more devout men who are ready to serve the Church,” he said.
Previous cohorts of deacons ordained for service in the Diocese were in 1978, 1983, 2010 and 2020. The fifth cohort will be ordained in September, with a sixth group beginning formation next month.
(Photos by Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
