Bishop McKnight is a nationally recognized authority on the permanent diaconate

Bishop-elect W. Shawn McKnight was ordained a deacon on Nov. 27, 1993.

Although he has since then been ordained a priest and will be ordained a bishop on Feb. 6, he will remain a deacon forever.

So it is with every priest and bishop in the Church.

But unlike most priests of his home Diocese of Wichita, which does not have a permanent diaconate program, he has taken a great interest in the restoration of the permanent diaconate as called for by the Second Vatican Council.

“I spent three years in Rome studying sacramental theology, and I wrote a dissertation on the permanent diaconate under the guidance of Father James Puglisi, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement and the director of the Ecumenical Center in Rome,” Bishop-elect McKnight stated.

“Ever since then, I have been engaged in many activities for the formation of permanent deacons and the promotion of diaconal ministry throughout the country,” he said.

Author, teacher, speaker

The National Association of Diaconate Directors (NADD) has invited the bishop-elect to give a keynote presentation at its 2018 Diaconate Congress this summer in New Orleans. The event will mark the 50th anniversary of the renewal of the Order of Diaconate as a permanent ordained ministry of the Catholic Church in the United States.

His writing on various aspects of the diaconate has been published in the Deacon Reader and the Newman Review. He has spoken at assemblies of the NADD and the National Diaconate Institute for Continuing Education, as well as several diocesan and archdiocesan diaconate programs.

He taught a course, “The Latin Rite Deacon,” at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio in 2005, and “Theology of the Deacon” for the St. Meinrad Permanent Deacon Formation Program in Indiana from 2005 to 2010.

He is the author of a book, Understanding the Diaconate: Historical, Theological and Sociological Foundations, which The Catholic University of America (CUA) Press will publish this summer.

In it, he helps clarify the role of the deacon from the standpoint of several academic disciplines in the Church.

The CUA catalogue entry for the book states that it “adds the resources of sociology and anthropology to the theological sources of Scripture, liturgy, Patristic Era texts, theologians and magisterial teachings to conclude that the deacon can be understood as ‘social intermediary and symbol of communitas (the spirit of community),’ who serves the participation of the laity in the life and mission of the Church.”

“This research proposes the deacon as a servant of the bond of communion within the Church — facilitating the relationship between the bishop/priest and his people — and between the People of God and the individual in need,” the CUA Press catalogue states.

A long and fruitful tradition

Deacons are ordained ministers who live and work among the laity, weaving a lifelong commitment to service into every aspect of their lives.

The word “deacon” is derived from the Greek word, “diakonia,” which means “minister on behalf of another.”

Bishop Emeritus John R. Gaydos once stated, “we don’t ordain deacons because we need more priests; we ordain deacons because we need more deacons!”

All priests are ordained and minister as deacons in the time leading up to their priestly ordination, but Priesthood and diaconate are distinct callings with unique ministries in the Church.

Even so, the most important charism of the deacon, the ministry of service, remains with the priest after he is ordained to the Priesthood.

With apostolic origins recorded in the Book of Acts, the diaconate flourished in the early Church but faded in importance during the Middle Ages and was relegated to a step toward Priesthood.

Blessed Pope Paul VI and the world’s bishops restored the permanent deaconate in the years following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe and Father Joseph Starmann, both now deceased, established a discernment and formation program for permanent deacons for the Jefferson City diocese in the 1970s.

Bishop McAuliffe ordained the first permanent deacons for the diocese in 1977.

He and his successor, Bishop Gaydos, promoted and supported the diaconate and ordained many permanent deacons.

There are currently 70 permanent deacons active in ministry this diocese, with an additional 19 men in formation to become deacons.

Married and single men are allowed to become deacons.

Deacons witness baptisms and marriages, proclaim the Gospel and preach homilies at Mass, and preside at Holy Communion services in the absence of a priest.

They assist the pastors of their home parishes, in addition to carrying-out their responsibilities to their families and livelihoods.

A few are employed by parishes or in the diocesan chancery offices.