Waterford and Lismore To Get Second Permanent Deacon

The number of priest working actively in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore has dropped dramatically since the turn of the Millennium and are expected to drop even further in the next decade, but the Diocese is to get a second Permanent Deacon in the coming weeks.

Dunhill man Brendan Gallagher is to be ordained a Permanent Deacon by the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Alphonsus Cullinan at the Sacred Heart Church in Dunhill at 3pm on Sunday October 1.

Two years ago Brendan was accepted as a candidate for the Permanent Diaconate Programme in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore in a ceremony where the chief celebrant was Bishop Cullinan, assisted by Mgr. Nicholas O Mahony who is the Vicar General of the Diocese and also the Priest in Charge of the Parish of Dunhill and Fenor with the last number of years.

Just over twelve months ago Brendan took the next step on his journey to become a Permanent Deacon when he was instituted an acolyte and as a Lector at a ceremony at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity in Waterford with Bishop Cullinan again the principal celebrant.

As a Lector Brendan became in a position to instruct adults and children in faith and prepare them to receive the Sacraments. He can speak about the Liturgy and minister to the sick. He can assist priests and deacons on the altar and in Eucharistic ceremonies.

In 2001 the Irish Episcopal Conference received permission from the Holy See to proceed with the restoration of the Permanent Diaconate on the Island of Ireland.

Eight years later the Bishops appointed a national training authority to approve and monitor formation of suitable candidates to be Permanent Deacons, and the first ordinations took place in the following years.

The first responsibility of the deacon is to be an effective visible sign of Christ who came to serve rather than to be served.  Although the ministry of the deacon may be exercised on a part-time basis, he remains at all times a deacon and he is called, in his life-style, to reflect this.

Other duties of a Permanent Deacon include:

• Assisting the priest at the celebration of the Eucharist
• Bringing the Eucharist to the sick at home and in hospitals
• The formation of altar servers and of acolytes
• Presiding at Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
• The celebration of Baptism
• Celebrating marriages (with the appropriate delegation)
• Presiding at funerals

• Proclaiming the Gospel at the Liturgy
• Preaching the homily
• Participating in sacramental preparation programmes
• The formation of readers
• Facilitating study of and prayer with the scriptures

• Facilitating the development of lay ministry
• Visiting the sick
• Visiting prisoners
• Visiting the bereaved
• Youth ministry, and the facilitation of peer-ministry among young people
• Promoting awareness of the social teaching of the Church
• The promotion of justice and human rights

He receives his mission from the Bishop of his Diocese, and will be assigned to work as a member of a team, normally under the leadership of a parish priest.  He is called to minister in close co-operation with priests and with members of the lay faithful who are entrusted with various ministries.  

Permanent Deacons are not intended to replace lay ministers.  In many places, they play a key role in the development and co-ordination of lay ministry.  Neither are deacons intended to be “mini-priests,” making up for a shortage of vocations.  The Vatican Council is quite clear that, alongside the diaconate, the role of the ordained priesthood must continue to be fostered, because without the priest there is no Eucharist and without the Eucharist there is no Church.

The first Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore was ordained in 2015, when Dr. Lazarus Gidolf was ordained in St. Oliver’s Church in Clonmel by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan in front of a large gathering of Priests including Very Rev. Fr. Pat Fitzgerald who is the Diocesan Director for the Permanent Diaconate as well as Parish Priest of the Saint Paul’s Parish in Waterford City, Parishioners and members of the Indian Community as well as members of Lazarus family and friends.

Brendan Gallagher will be known to many through sporting circles and was for many years very involved with Ladies Football in the county and was for a time the Chairman of the Ladies Football County Board.