Intriguing news clattered over the wire a short time ago: the prestigious Pontifical College Josephinum, the only Pontifical Seminary in North America, has announced the establishment of the Institute for the Formation and Ministry of the Permanent Diaconate at its historic campus in Columbus, Ohio.

As the press release puts it:

Rev. Christopher J. Schreck, Ph.D., S.T.D. has been named the founding Executive Director of the Institute. Most recently Vice Rector and Distinguished Professor of Sacred Theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, Father Schreck’s programs and retreats for permanent deacons have received wide acclaim for many years.

The Josephinum, responding to mandates of the Bishops’ Committee for the Diaconate as promulgated in the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, will also introduce an extensive distance learning program for deacons in September, 2007. Developed in cooperation with the National Association of Deacon Directors (NADD), the program focuses on “Practical Things for Practical Men”, with courses intended exclusively for deacons, emphasizing the core ministries of the diaconate. Delivered entirely via the internet, the program now includes twelve-week accredited courses focusing upon Hispanic Ministry, Pastoral Counseling, Hospital Ministry, Medical Morality, Pastoral Care of Families, and the Spirituality of the Deacon.

Since 1899, when its first graduates were ordained, the Josephinum has prepared men for ministry through human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation. A pontifical institution immediately subject to the Holy See through the Apostolic Nuncio, and governed by a Board of Trustees, The Josephinum follows the norms established by the Code of Canon Law, the Congregation for Catholic Education, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It’s impossible to tell just now what impact this will have — but it surely bodes well for the permanent diaconate as a vocation. Among other things, it indicates that this remarkable (and remarkably thriving) ministry is a force to be reckoned with, and one that the bishops now acknowledge merits a field of study at America’s only pontifical college. How long until the diaconate gets its own seminary?