Portland welcomed a quartet of new deacons last weekend — and they come from a variety of backgrounds:

New permanent deacons ordained Saturday at St. Mary Cathedral in Portland are a young father of two, a man who escaped Vietnam’s communist regime, a former high-tech vice president and a lawyer whose life changed via Marian spirituality.

“Deacons have a particular vocation which calls them to carry on the Lord’s work of bringing love and justice to our troubled world,” Archbishop John Vlazny told the congregation gathered to celebrate the ordination of Scott Kolbet, Michael Chau Pham, Kevin Fillo and Craig Casey.

A role revived during the Second Vatican Council, permanent deacons are ordained primarily for service and charity. Permanent deacons, who can be married, are ministers of the word, which means they can proclaim the gospel at Mass, preach and teach in the name of the church. Their sacramental ministry includes baptizing, conducting prayer services, serving as an official church witness to marriage and conducting funerals and wake services.

The work of deacons in the Archdiocese of Portland depends on their individual skills. Most work in parishes, but do everything from teaching adult education to organizing food banks and arranging ministry to African missions. Deacons serve in hospitals prisons, as counselors to the divorced and widowed, as advocates for pro-life causes.

 “When all is said and done, like bishops and priests, deacons are called to live a life in Christ more intensely for the sake of the whole church,” the archbishop said, reminding the men several times that they, like priests, work in union with the local bishop.

Read more about them here. And ad multos annos!