Bishop Gaydos helped reestablish the Permanent Diaconate

I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the beginnings of this new apostolate in the Archdiocese.”

Bishop John R. Gaydos, Jan. 6, 1975

In 1975, Cardinal John J. Carberry of St. Louis appointed the future Bishop Gaydos to the Archdiocesan Committee for the Permanent Diaconate.

The diaconate, according to Acts 6:1-7, started when the Apostles saw a need for designating people to assist the Apostles in whatever ways were necessary as they devoted themselves to preaching the Word.

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

Deacons receive the sacrament of Holy Orders, as do priests and bishops.        

The Diaconate flourished in the early Church, but faded in importance during the Middle Ages and was relegated as a step toward Priesthood.

Following lengthy discussion during the Second Vatican Council, Pope St. Paul VI re-instituted the diaconate in 1967.

“I look forward to the opportunity to contribute to the beginnings of this new apostolate in the Archdiocese,” Bishop Gaydos wrote to his archbishop on Jan. 6, 1975.

“While no one knows the future,” he continued, “one cannot but hope that the powerful grace of Holy Orders that we have all gratefully experienced in our own lives will strengthen and edify the whole Church in St. Louis in the ministry of these new Servants of the Lord.”

As bishop, he devoted significant resources to forming deacons before and after their ordination.

With his active support, the number of active permanent deacons in this diocese grew beyond the number of active priests here.

“We don’t ordain deacons because we don’t have enough priests,” he was fond of saying. “We ordain deacons because we need more deacons!”