A retired deacon temporarily removed from ministry in May 2022 after the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis received an allegation of offensive misconduct with a minor in the early 2000s requested that he be laicized, and the petition has been granted, Archbishop Bernard Hebda said in a statement.
Martin Jaques Jr. was ordained a permanent deacon in 2000. He retired in 2015. He served at Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul and St. Odilia in Shoreview, according to archdiocesan records. The deacon also told archdiocesan officials he ministered at Incarnation/Sagrado Corazon in Minneapolis.
Law enforcement was notified of the allegation but decided not to investigate. The archdiocese, in consultation with the Ministerial Review Board, then began its investigation to determine the deacon’s fitness for ministry.
“As that investigation was underway, Deacon Jaques presented a voluntary petition to Pope Francis for a dispensation from the clerical state, commonly referred to as a ‘request for laicization,’” the archbishop said in the Jan. 17 statement. “Deacon Jaques’ petition was presented to the Holy Father, and I have recently been informed that the request was granted. That means that Deacon Jaques will from this point forward live as a lay person and will no longer be recognized as a deacon of the Catholic Church serving in any diocese,” Archbishop Hebda said. “I am hopeful that Pope Francis’ decision will help bring closure to those who have been involved in this situation.”
