The Perth Catholic Community is invited to come together Sunday 28 June to celebrate the milestone ordination anniversary of 12 Permanent Deacons.
The Mass will mark the 20th anniversary of Ordination for the originally 14 men which was celebrated on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul by the now Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey in 2006 in a ceremony that restored a once-dormant ministry to the life of the local Church.
Director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate, Deacon Chris Power said it was a historic moment for the Church in Perth.
“And two decades on, the fruit of that day continues to be felt in parishes, prisons, hospitals and communities across the Archdiocese,” Deacon Power said.
Deacon Power explained to The Record that following the restoration and reinvigoration of the permanent diaconate by the Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI’s Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, in 2001, then Archbishop Barry Hickey called for expressions of interest from men across the Archdiocese.
Because the basic norms for the formation of permanent deacons had only been released by the Vatican Congregation for Education and Clergy in 1998, there was at the time no program in the Archdiocese either to train or ordain men to the permanent diaconate.
Deacon Power explained that the Archdiocese went on to create its own program to train the men theologically, pastorally, spiritually and humanly.
After several years of preparation, 2006 saw 14 men ordained for ministry in the Archdiocese of Perth.
“Permanent Deacons are men – married or single – who are called to be ordained ministers of the Church. Their role is to help and serve the bishops and priests.
“The Permanent Diaconate is a distinct vocation,” he said.
““As Cardinal Walter explained, the bishop has two arms, one is the priests, the other the deacons. Where the priesthood is for leadership, the diaconate is for service.
The word Deacon is derived from the Greek diakonos meaning servant.
The bishop appoints deacons to parishes where they assist the priest by preaching, celebrating baptisms, marriages and funerals and other liturgical celebrations like communion services. However, they usually work mostly outside the parish in underserviced ministries.
Perth’s Permanent Deacons have lived out their calling in strikingly different ways. Some have worked with refugees and seafarers, in schools and with the young, others as chaplains and spiritual companions. Wherever they have served, married Permanent Deacons have been strongly supported by their wives and families.
Of the fourteen ordained that day, twelve remain in active ministry, following the passing of Deacons Ivan Sands and Patrick Seatter.
“The 20th anniversary Mass on Sunday 28 June 2026 at 2pm at St Mary’s Cathedral will be a moment of thanksgiving — for the courage of those who answered the call, the families who walked alongside them, and the communities they have served,” Deacon Power concluded.
All are warmly welcome to join Perth’s Permanent Deacons and their families in prayer and celebration as they give thanks for two decades of servant ministry in the Church of Perth.
