Fr. Daniel Merz reappointed as Vicar for the Diaconate
One of the Early Church Fathers referred to deacons as “the eyes and ears of the bishop.”
Bishop Ralph B. O’Donnell has called on Father Daniel Merz to help be the eyes and ears of the deacons.
Specifically, Fr. Merz has been appointed to an additional three-year term as the diocese’s Vicar for the Permanent Diaconate.
“I thank you for your willingness to assist me in the task of governance of the Diocese of Jefferson City,” the bishop wrote to him on Oct. 22.
Fr. Merz is also pastor of St. John Henry Newman Parish in Columbia and chairman of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission.
Archbishop Shawn McKnight, who led this diocese from 2018-2025, in 2018 appointed him to succeed the late Father Frank Bussmann as director of the Permanent Diaconate upon Fr. Bussmann’s sudden death.
He worked with Deacon John Schwartze, who was director of deacon formation; and Deacon Ray Purvis, who was director of ministry and life of permanent deacons.
Both men are now retired.
Deacon Charles Ochoa now serves as director of formation, and Deacon Mike Berendzen serves as director of diaconal ministry and life.
“I work very closely with them to do all these things,” said Fr. Merz. “It’s a big job, and I’m very grateful to be able to collaborate with them.”
Church ambassadors
The diaconate is the first of three ranks in ordained ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.
Like priests and bishops, deacons receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders through the laying-on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
But their vocation is distinct from that of other members of the clergy.
One of the most noticeable differences is that most permanent deacons may be married.
Deacons hold several roles and responsibilities in the Church.
They are expected to be leaders in identifying the needs of others, organizing the Church’s response to those needs and addressing the injustices or inequities that lead to them.
“They’re ordained for ministry, for service,” said Fr. Merz. “They function in the Church as a kind of ambassador, an extension of the bishop.”
Deacons have a particular ministry to Word, to Sacrament and Charity.
They proclaim the Gospel at Mass and occasionally preach homilies.
They are also ordinary ministers for distributing Holy Communion and administering the Sacrament of Baptism, and they can witness marriages in the Church.
“And they have a particular ministry to charity,” said Fr. Merz. “Hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, people who are poor and vulnerable.”
To be a facilitator
Deacons undergo a process of intense spiritual discernment, education and formation before being ordained.
The bishop usually assigns each deacon to assist the pastor of a parish. Some are also entrusted with responsibilities for the whole diocese.
For instance, one deacon serves as diocesan director of cemeteries; another is in charge of marriage ministry; another oversees marriage preparation ministry; another coordinates promotion of Natural Family Planning, as well as the two deacons in the Diaconate Office.
After ordination, deacons, like priests, need ongoing support, formation and personal development to carry out their ministries well.
Bishop O’Donnell, who as a priest served for five years as head of the Diaconate in the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, made clear his desire to have a vicar who will serve as a close conduit between him and the deacons here.
“Kind of in a parallel way of how Father Gregory Oligschlaeger is vicar for priests in this diocese,” Fr. Merz described it.
As Vicar for Deacons, he oversees the formation of candidates for the Diaconate and the wellbeing of the men who are already ordained.
“I’m also tasked with being the first step in vetting things for the bishop and preparing things for him,” he said.
He pointed out that “vicar” means “one who is in place of.”
“So, someone who can act with the bishop’s mind and heart toward the deacons and deacon candidates,” said Fr. Merz. “Not to be an obstacle between them, but a facilitator between them.”
Deep foundation
The Apostles established the Order of Deacon shortly after Jesus’s Ascension into heaven and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
The Diaconate flourished in the early Church, reaching its apex of influence and responsibility in the third and fourth centuries.
But by the dawn of the Middle Ages, most of its significance had been lost and its responsibilities rolled into the ministerial Priesthood and various religious orders.
Pope St. Paul VI (+1963-1978) restored the Permanent Diaconate in 1969, following the Second Vatican Council.
The Jefferson City diocese was among the first in the United States to form and ordain permanent deacons, ordaining its first class in 1977.
More than 80 deacons now serve throughout the diocese, including some who were ordained for other dioceses and now live here.
Several more are retired but continue to serve the Church in various capacities.
Archbishop McKnight, who developed his doctoral thesis into a book titled Understanding the Diaconate: Historical, Theological and Sociological Foundations, worked with Fr. Merz and other advisors to update the curriculum and formation process for preparing new deacons for the diocese.
The five-year process — one year of formal discernment and four years of candidacy and formation — emphasizes intellectual, spiritual, emotional and pastoral growth and maturity.
“They’re getting good formation,” said Fr. Merz. “Some of the guys going through say this is a lot of work, but they also say they are getting formed and prepared very well for ministry.”
“My Brother Deacons”
Fr. Merz continued in his role, without the vicar title, after Archbishop McKnight was appointed archbishop of Kansas City in Kansas last year.
Bishop O’Donnell decided to structure the office of Vicar for the Diaconate to something much like that of the Vicar for Priests, said Fr. Merz — “putting those two positions into a parallel slot to help him in his ministry toward all the clergy.”
Fr. Merz also advises the bishop on selection, placement, transfer of deacons and on formation and recommendation for the candidates.
“If there are issues going on with a deacon or his family, I try to find that out and keep the bishop informed,” said Fr. Merz.
Fr. Merz can also help mediate any conflicts that arise between a deacon and his pastor.
He also works with Deacons Berendzen and Ochoa to organize two weekends per year for the deacon community to spend together, growing in their shared ministry and learning about things that are going on in the diocese.
“You want a spiritually healthy Diaconate so they can be healthy in their ministry,” he said.
Fr. Merz pointed out that like all priests, he was ordained a deacon before he became a priest, as was Bishop O’Donnell.
They remain deacons for the rest of their lives.
“When I communicate with the Diaconate Community, I call them ‘my brother deacons,’” said Fr. Merz.
He pointed out that this diocese has one of the highest deacon-to-parish and deacon-to-priest ratios in the country.
“Deacons play a sizable role in the life of the Church here, because so many parishes have them,” said Fr. Merz. “They preach and sometimes baptize and witness marriages. They do all kinds of preparation for Sacraments, for Baptism, for Confirmation, for Marriage.”
With God’s help
As Vicar for the Diaconate, Fr. Merz asked for prayers for God to grant him wisdom and discernment in making decisions, to help him always be rooted in charity in working with his brother deacons and their wives and families, “and always placing them in the Lord’s hands and being a good communicator with the bishop and whoever else is involved.”
