On Easter Saturday, April 7th, Bishop Ryan will ordain the following five men as permanent Deacons at Mt. Carmel Cathedral at 10:00 AM
From Saint Jude Parish, Estanislao Roque Kogure Benavente; from Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral-Parish, Jeffrey Melvin Tenorio Camacho; from Santa Soledad Parish, Rosiky Flores Camacho; from Santa Remedios Parish, Thomas Joseph Schweiger; from Saint Jude Parish, Antonio Yarobwemal.
This is the culmination of five years of discernment and training which begin as a Diocesan Lay Ministry program in May 2013. As Deacons they are called, like the first deacons described in the in the Acts of the Apostles to be of service to the local community (Diocese of Chalan Kanoa ) and to the local ordinary(Bishop Ryan Jimenez). (Acts 6: 1-6 and 1 Timothy 3:13 : 3 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a [f]high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.) On the day of ordination the Bishop will assign each one to a particular Parish and/ or Ministry.
The service of Deacons takes many forms, although it primarily involves the service of care for the poor and needy. They will also proclaim the Gospel and preach when asked to do so; instruct candidates for baptism, marriage and confirmation. At times they will minister the Sacraments of Baptism, and on occasion the Sacrament of Marriage. They are to visit and give Holy Communion to the sick but may not administer the Sacrament of Anointing to the sick.
As many people know, Permanent Deacons are not new to Saipan. While still under the Diocese of Agana, the church here had two ordained deacons, Modesto Salas of Chalan Kanoa, and Segundo Castro of Tinian both of whom died some time ago. Deacon Richard Shewman, formerly of Chalan Kanoa, now resides and works in the Marriage Tribunal for the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania and writes a weekly column for the Northstar. There have been ordained permanent Deacons active in the neighboring Archdioceses of Agana and the Diocese of the Caroline Islands for more than thirty years. On some remote island communities, in the absence of a priest, it is the ordained deacon who provides a Sunday service and Communion.
The wives of deacons play an important role. They have participated at times in the training and days of prayer for the deacons. They have promised to support their husbands in this ministry. They are Winnie Camacho, Sonya Camacho, Rose Schwieger, Annie Benavente, and Linda Yarobwemal.
