Archbishop McKnight returns to ordain 14 deacons

You are to serve as a pastoral bridge between the shepherds and their flocks with a special mission to remove the barriers and walls that might separate pastors from their flock.”

Archbishop Shawn McKnight, to the newly ordained deacons of this diocese

CLICK HERE to see a gallery of photos from this event. 

CLICK HERE to read an article about Rev. Mr. Jacob Hartman. 

CLICK HERE to read a series of stories profiling the new permanent deacons. 

CLICK HERE to watch the livestream of the Ordination Mass. 

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The Old and New Testaments elaborately illustrate the diversity of gifts and charisms that God puts to use to draw people to himself.

Look no further than Acts 6, in which the Apostles and the people summoned the Holy Spirit to help them call forth seven men of good reputation and ordain them to help with the mission of the Church.

“Contrary to common opinion, they were not ordained to wait at tables, serving food and drink, but sharing in the ministry of the Apostles in teaching the faith and baptizing, as seen in the ministries of St. Stephen, the protomartyr, and Philip,” proclaimed Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City in Kansas.

Archbishop McKnight, who led this diocese from 2018 until his installation as archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas May 27, returned to Jefferson City June 7 to ordain 14 men to the Order of Deacon.

The College of Consultors for the diocese invited him to do so.

Among them was Rev. Mr. Jacob D. Hartman, a seminarian who hopes to be ordained a priest of this diocese next year.

The other 13 are permanent deacons who will assist the pastors in parishes.

They include: Deacon Kenneth Arthur, Deacon Robert Czarnecki, Deacon Louie Delk, Deacon Michael Dorrell, Deacon Chad Freie, Deacon Denis Gladbach, Deacon Dwayne Goodwin OFS, Deacon Keith Henke, Deacon Brian Lutz, Deacon Harvey Million Jr., Deacon Charles Ochoa, Deacon Mark Oligschlaeger and Deacon James Rangitsch Jr.

It was the day before the Solemnity of Pentecost. 

“Men for others”

The Cathedral was filled to capacity for the Ordination Mass.

Archbishop McKnight, who is author of Understanding the Diaconate: Historical, Theological and Sociological Foundations, noted that the first seven deacons of the Church became special assistants to the Apostles through the laying-on of hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“They were commissioned to be men for others,” he stated. “Though not Apostles themselves, they had a share in the authority and a share in the power of the Holy Spirit.

“Thus, they were called and empowered to be like Christ to further the mission of the Church,” he said.

Archbishop McKnight pointed out that deacons, like bishops and priests, are configured to Christ in a special way.

“But not as ministerial priests,” he stated. “It is the mission of deacons to assist the bishop and his priests in the fulfillment of their priestly ministries.”

Specifically, deacons belong to an intermediate order between ministerial priests and the people. They express the needs and desires of the Christian communities while animating, facilitating, fostering and promoting the participation of the lay faithful in the life and mission of the Church.

“With your natural gifts and the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit, you shall assist your bishop and his priests to help meet the pastoral obligations they have to those in this local Church,” Archbishop McKnight told the 14.

“You are to serve as a pastoral bridge between the shepherds and their flocks with a special mission to remove the barriers and walls that might separate pastors from their flock,” he said.

With help from the Holy Spirit, the deacons will minister at the altar by proclaiming the Gospel, preparing the gifts for sacrifice, and distributing the Lord’s Body and Blood to the faithful.

“Furthermore,” Archbishop McKnight added, “it will be your duty, under the presidency of the bishop, to exhort believers and unbelievers alike, and to instruct them in holy doctrine.”

They will preside over public prayer, administer the Baptism of infants, assist at marriages, bring Holy Communion to the dying, and conduct funeral rites.

“You will perform works of charity in the name of the bishop or the pastor of a parish,” the archbishop told them. “And with the help of God, you will go about as a humble servant, following the example our Lord gave us all: the greatest shall be the servant of all.”

Proclaimers and doers

Father Daniel Merz, who served as vicar for permanent deacons under Archbishop McKnight, summoned each candidate for Holy Orders by name.

On behalf of the whole Church, Fr. Merz testified to the candidates’ worthiness and asked Archbishop McKnight to ordain them.

The candidates declared before the archbishop and people their intention to accept the office of the Diaconate, including its requirements of prayer, ministry, sacrifice, fidelity and obedience.

The 14 men then lay prostrate before the altar, in a symbol of death and resurrection and of obedience and total reliance on God, while the choir and people chanted the Litany of Saints.

Archbishop McKnight then placed his hands on the head of each candidate, an ancient symbol for the bestowing of the Holy Spirit, and prayed the Prayer of Ordination over them.

A friend or mentor, along with each permanent deacon’s wife, then ceremonially helped each deacon put on his new vestments.

The deacon’s stole symbolizes the yoke of the diaconal office.

The dalmatic, a liturgical vestment that has sleeves to free the arms, symbolizes the active service the deacon renders to the Church and for the bishop.

Archbishop McKnight presented a Book of the Gospels to each new deacon, saying: “Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, practice what you teach.”

The archbishop and the other deacons who were present then offered a sign of peace to each of the newly ordained.

The choir and people chanted, in Latin: “Come, Creator Spirit, visit the minds of your servants: fill with heavenly grace the hearts you have created.”

Many gifts

Joining Archbishop Mc­Knight at the altar were: Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, diocesan administrator; Fr. Merz; Father Paul Clark, diocesan vocation director; Father Stephen Jones, pastor of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish; Father Paul Maina Waithaka, dean of formation at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago; Benedictine Father Victor Schinstock, president and rector, and Benedictine Father Pachomius Meade, vice rector and dean of students at Conception Seminary College in Conception; and many priests of the diocese.

Assisting them were Deacons Michael Berendzen and John Schwartze.

Many other permanent deacons of the diocese attended.

Seminarians of the diocese were the altar servers.

Sandra Rangitsch and Velvet Dorrell, wives of two of the new deacons, proclaimed the readings.

Members of Rev. Mr. Hartman’s family presented the gifts at the Offertory.

The Diocesan Choir, conducted by Andrew Meagher DMA and accompanied by organist Annette Kehner, led the singing.

Dewayne Carver and Katharine Meagher served as cantors.

Armor of Christ

Father Joshua Duncan, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Glasgow and St. Joseph Parish in Fayette, helped vest Rev. Mr. Hartman.

Deacon Matthew McLaughlin, campus minister at the Rolla Newman Center, who assists the pastor of the Rolla, Rosati and St. James parishes, helped vest Deacon Arthur.

Monsignor David Cox, pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish in Wardsville, helped vest Deacon Czarnecki.

Deacon Tyler McClay, a deacon of the Jefferson City diocese who now lives near St. Louis, helped vest Deacon Delk.

Father Gerald Kaimann, a retired priest of the diocese who ministers at St. Joseph Parish in Palmyra, helped vest Deacon Dorrell.

Father William Peckman, pastor of the Macon and Shelbina parishes and the Bevier mission, and Father David Veit, pastor of St. Brendan Parish in Mexico, helped vest Deacon Freie.

Deacon John Schwartze, diocesan director of deacon formation, who assists the pastor of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, helped vest Deacon Gladbach.

Deacon Luke Mahsman, who assists the pastor of the Hannibal and Palmyra parishes, and Deacon David Ream OFS, who assists the pastor of the Kirksville parish and the Novinger mission, helped vest Deacon Goodwin.

Father Robert Ike, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia, and Father Kelechi Uzuegbu, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Taos, helped vest Deacon Henke.

Father William Peckman, pastor of the Macon and Shelbina parishes and the Bevier Mission, and Father Stephen Jones, pastor of Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Jefferson City, helped vest Deacon Lutz.

Father Michael Coleman, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Centralia and a chaplain at Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, and Deacon Jon Bequette, who assists the pastor of Holy Spirit Parish, helped vest Deacon Million.

Deacon Joseph Puglis OFS, who assists the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia, helped vest Deacon Ochoa.

Father Donald Antweiler, a retired priest of the diocese, and Father Anthony Rinaldo, pastor of the Loose Creek and Bonnots Mill parishes, helped vest Deacon Oligschlaeger.

Father Joseph Corel, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish of Pettis County, and Father Brad Berhorst, parochial administrator of Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Lake Ozark and judicial vicar for the diocese, helped vest Deacon Rangitsch.

Rev. Mr. Hartman remained in the sanctuary and assisted with the rest of the Mass.

He and several newly ordained permanent deacons helped distribute Holy Communion.

Following orders

Msgr. Kurwicki welcomed Archbishop McKnight on behalf of the diocesan College of Consultors.

The priest expressed thanks to God for the beautiful day and the new deacons; to Archbishop McKnight for coming back to ordain them; and to everyone who had a hand in forming them and helping them answer their diaconal calling.

Msgr. Kurwicki advised the new deacons to accept their assignments with a prayer: “Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will.”

He emphasized that formation for ministry never ends.

“Continue to learn, always be open to learn, and know that in every experience, the Lord is working in your life,” he advised.

The permanent deacons and their wives have been preparing since 2020, taking classes and undergoing extensive human formation.

Rev. Mr. Hartman, a son of Patrick and Kristina Hartman, has been in priestly formation since 2018.

He will spend six weeks in a Spanish-language and cultural immersion program in Antigua, Guatemala, before returning to minister in the diocese this summer.

He anticipates completing his Master’s in Divinity degree at Mundelein Seminary this December.