From The Tablet, the diocesan newspaper for Brooklyn:
Future ordinations of permanent deacons in the Diocese of Brooklyn are expected to keep pace with deacons aging out of their active ministries, said Father Joseph Gibino, director of the diaconate.
According to information from the diocese, there are 202 permanent deacons in Brooklyn and Queens, 140 of whom are actively serving, with the remaining 62 in a “senior” deacon status.
Meanwhile, five-year deacon-formation classes locally are filled with the desired number of candidates who must meet requirements set by the Church. However, according to Father Gibino, the diocese is a trendsetter in deacon formation.
“Our requirements are a little more strict than some others, but we still are getting 12 to 15 in the class,” he said. “So, we’re doing quite well in terms of the diaconate.”
To enter diaconate formation in the diocese, a man must be a fully initiated member of the Church, married in the Church for at least five years, between the ages of 35 and 60, and be financially stable, among other requirements….
…Father Gibino and Deacon George Velez, coordinator of clergy personnel, expressed confidence in the diocese’s current pace of ordinations.
Father Gibino explained that class sizes are set based on the available resources — including seminary faculty and priestly “mentors” — needed to train and educate the candidates. The ordinations are usually held every other year in the spring or fall.
“So, right now, we have two classes,” Father Gibino said, noting that there’s a Class of 2027 and a Class of 2030. “And then, we will begin the interview process this fall for those who would be the Class of 2032.”
Deacon Velez added that the class sizes do not represent the number of men who want to become deacons.
“The 13 to 15 — that’s not how many men are applying,” Deacon Velez said. “It’s how many men are being accepted.”…The Diocese of Brooklyn has also added a requirement that candidates have at least a bachelor’s degree when applying to the program, so they can proceed with their graduate degree pursuits.
Father Gibino noted that if their undergraduate work lacks coursework in theology or philosophy, “we can fill in those pieces.”
“But,” he added, “they need to be able to move into a graduate theological program.”
Father Gibino said the language skills of the diaconate reflect the cultural diversity of the “Diocese of Immigrants.”
“We have the United Nations in our diaconate,” he said. “Right now, in formation we have deacons who speak Lithuanian, Polish, Spanish, Chinese, Haitian (Creole), Italian, and English.”
