John Utecht, 24, participated in his father Joe Utecht’s Dec. 7 ordination to the permanent diaconate in a special way: He was one of the seminarians serving at the liturgy at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, and he helped vest his father.
“I’m very grateful to have a dad who’s going to be a deacon,” said Utecht, who is in his second year of theology at The St. Paul Seminary. Utecht said he also looks forward to his father putting his vestment on him when he is ordained a transitional deacon in 2021.
The second of five children, Utecht said his father’s pastoral approach will make him a good deacon. “He cares a lot about people, so I think he’s going to be a great servant who’s always sacrificing for the flock and doing everything he can to serve in whatever way God calls him to,” he said.
Archbishop Bernard Hebda ordained Deacon Utecht and nine other men as permanent deacons Dec. 7, telling them and about 2,500 of their family members, friends and others who came to support them that Jesus, who is Emmanuel, inspires people to respond to his love.
“That’s the space in which we find the liberty to say ‘yes,’ when God asks the unthinkable, asking us to be deacons, for example,” the archbishop said. “Or asking us to be husbands or wives, asking us to be priests or consecrated men or women. It’s always out of that love that we find the strength to say ‘yes.’”
Deacons will serve in many ways, but they will always be a reminder of Jesus’ love, making the Lord present in the Church, Archbishop Hebda said.
“You will bring something new to (the diaconate) after this day as you bring the grace of orders, as you stand, as you kneel, as you serve — doing that in the name of the Church. It’s changed because of what’s happening in your life today,” he said. “It’s a way in which you’re able through your service to remind all of us of the love of Jesus Emmanuel, God is with us.”
The new deacons join 115 active and 50 retired but often still serving permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
As he received friends and family after his ordination, Deacon Joel Neisen, 59, commented that the day had been “glorious.”
“I thought the day would never come,” he said. “I first applied (for the diaconate) 20 years ago but sickness in my family with my children prevented me from following through, and so I had to defer it for many years and here I am today. Thanks be to God. I am very happy.”
Deacon Neisen said he will continue serving in prison ministry and will be assigned to his home parish, St. John the Baptist in Savage. “I’m just looking for whatever God has for me,” he said.
John Hengemuhle, 37, and his family came by bus with a number of other young families from St. Peter in North St. Paul to support fellow parishioner Eric Cooley at his ordination.
“We’ve been connected to (Deacon Cooley) and his wife and his kids since he started,” Hengemuhle said. “It’s been fun to walk, very distant from them, but still with them on this. And now get to see it come together and see him give his ministry to our community. We’re excited.”
For Maureen Daly, 52, the liturgy was overwhelming and beautiful. She said her husband, Deacon Michael Daly, will be a great servant in his home parish, Our Lady of the Prairie in Belle Plaine. “He’s born and raised there,” she said. “He’s the third generation so it’s good for our town and good for our parish.”
Lisa Damiani, 37, said ordination day for her husband, Deacon Matt Damiani, was a gift from God. She acknowledged that his five years of diaconate preparation was a commitment that affected her and their eight children. But it was worth it, she said.
“We’ve grown so much closer to the Lord,” she said. “It helps our family. For the kids to see him make that commitment is so beautiful. I think it will really open up their hearts to think about serving the Church.”
The newly ordained men and their home parishes:
John Allgaier, Holy Name of Jesus, Medina; John Bauch, St. Bonaventure, Bloomington; Eric Cooley, St. Peter, North St. Paul; Michael Daly, Our Lady of the Prairie, Belle Plaine; Matt Damiani, St. Peter, Forest Lake; Eric Evander and William Schroeder, both Holy Family, St. Louis Park; Deacon Joel Neisen, St. John the Baptist, Savage; and Joe Utecht and Rodney Walker, both St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Hastings.
