Bishop Honors Deacons on Their Anniversaries

By Stefanie Gutierrez

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio congratulated 235 deacons and their wives on their diaconate anniversaries at a 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday, March 29.

The Mass was part of the diocesan diaconate convocation held at Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston. “The Deacon: the Living Icon of Jesus the Servant: A Catechesis on Service Ministry” was the theme for the day. Workshops were available in English and Spanish and had presenters from both the diocese and the Archdiocese of New York.

The day concluded with a Mass celebrated by Bishop DiMarzio and a dinner and anniversaries celebration, when 27 deacons were recognized for their years of active service in the diocese. Together, the deacons’ years of service totaled 781 years of ordained ministry.

Bishop DiMarzio made special recognition of the 27 deacons, who were celebrating 25, 27, 30, 33 and 34 years of active ministry.

Stefanie Gutierrez Photos 

A REASON TO CELEBRATE: 235 deacons were recogized for their years of service to the diocese at the Diaconate Convocation and Deacon’s Anniversary Mass held at Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston, on Saturday, March 29. Bishop DiMarzio, center, stands with some of the deacons who were ordained from 1978-83 and their wives. From left: Florence and William Williamsen, Ann and Richard Lee, Rosa and Guillermo Gómez, Jose and Milagros Ramos, Juan Calvo, Jesús and Maria Soto, Aida and Felipe Alvarez, Cathy and Thomas Davis, Patricia and Saviour Hili, and Maria and John Franca. They are celebrating 25, 27 and 30 years of active ministry.

In his homily, he told the congregation, “God reveals himself in the most ordinary ways to all of us; very seldom it is extraordinary” and said, “God appears to us today in our hope. He is the anchor of our hope in this contemporary world… We are people of hope, and hope brings us joy and a certain peace.”

He spoke of understanding faith, “even when you have doubts about the faith,” he said. “Deacons and wives, you live your lives through service in your free time, and sometimes that isn’t always free. But the work and the guarantee of your service is in Jesus Christ the Risen Lord… And as deacons, you are witnesses to the Resurrection by the joy and the hope you have.”

There were many deacons present who were celebrating their 30th anniversaries; all were members of the first class ordained for the diocese on Dec. 3, 1977, at St. James Cathedral, Downtown Brooklyn, by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero.

Many recalled the ordination as if it were yesterday. Deacon John Francis, a parishioner at Holy Family, Fresh Meadows, recalled his own path to Holy Orders.

“It was the early-1970s, and I knew there was something more I wanted to do in life,” said Deacon Francis. “I felt that God has been very good to me, and I knew I had to give back. So I read a booklet about deacons and I knew it was for me.”

He added that his “greatest joy over the past 30 years has been baptisms. I love bringing little children into the faith. It is so awesome to think God is using me to bring these souls into the Church.”

Francis, who is also a chaplain in hospitals and nursing homes, related, “God has given me so many blessings – I have two artificial knees, five stints in my heart and one kidney – but I’m doing great! I can’t out-give God… So I have to give back.”

He also does bereavement counseling in Ocean Grove, N.J., at a house on the ocean named “Mark 6:31 at the Dove Cote” where many clergy and lay people come “to find rest.”

“I thought as I got older, I’d get less to do but instead I have more to do!” he said with a laugh.

Deacon Jean Baptist Boursiquot and his wife Alma were not only celebrating his 30th year as a deacon, but also their 49th wedding anniversary, on March 31.

Parishioners at St. Ignatius, Crown Heights, the Boursiquots have been active members since coming to New York from Haiti 43 years ago.

“In Haiti, I was very involved in church. When we moved here, we wanted the vocation of being active in a parish. I was so active that the associate pastor at the time invited me to the diaconate program… I was admitted to the program and now here I am,” Jean said.

Alma has also shared in the exciting journey as a deacon’s wife. She works “for the city, as a nurse’s aide” and through her lay ministry she has been instrumental in the conversions of five families and their children, whom she has then witnessed her husband baptize. “The adults of the families have asked for baptism, not only for themselves, but also for their kids,” Alma said.

Jean added, “The sacraments are so exciting – baptisms, weddings – I feel so blessed to perform the sacraments.”

Boursiquot, in addition to his diaconate responsibilities, now serves as a spiritual director for the Legion of Mary and is also director of music for the Haitian community. “I enjoy promoting new ministries in the parish,” Jean said.

A recognition dinner followed the Mass, where Bishop DiMarzio met with some of the honored deacons. He is pictured above with John Francis, right, who is a member of the first ordained class of deacons for the diocese. Several of Francis’ classmates were also present.

Deacon Frank DeTucci, from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, and a member of the first diocesan class of deacons, began the program when “the Holy Spirit led me to it. It fit so well that I explored it and found that I was able to serve the people with what gifts and talents I had.”

“The people have been the biggest blessing,” he explained. “The people of God have been so generous in sharing their gifts with me. I’ve been blessed by so many.”

He is a chaplain at Queensboro Correctional Facility, Long Island City, where he has been serving for 20 years. “I have loved being a compassionate listener, an advocate, and following the Scripture that says, ‘When I was in prison, you came to visit me.’ It is humbling to me to see the faith of the inmates there… I am much more accepting of the beauty and dignity of each person.”

He credited two people with his path to his diaconate ministry. “Sister Julie Hauser, c.s.j., invited me to come see for myself (the correctional facility) and 20 years later I am still looking at that place, and loving it.”
He also cited the late Msgr. James Tahaney, the original director of the diaconate program. “From its inception, he motivated me, he inspired me, and he led me to my possibilities,” DeTucci said.

“These deacons are still serving faithfully at their own parishes and really living their faith and their vocation to the diaconate,” said Deacon Jorge Gonzalez, director of the diaconate formation office. “It was only fitting to recognize their many years of service.”

Diaconate Honorees

Ordained in 1973
Deacon Moliere Germain
Deacon Charles Postler

Ordained in 1974
Deacon Germán Martínez

Ordained in 1977
Deacon Berthal Beaubrum
Deacon Jean Baptist Boursiquot
Deacon John Coffey
Deacon Ramon Lima
Deacon John Sands
Deacon Harry Svebel
Deacon John Francis
Deacon Frank DeTucci
Deacon Edward Smolinski

Ordained in 1978
Deacon Daniel Marley
Deacon John Flannery
Deacon Abdón Mejía

Ordained in 1981
Deacon Guillermo Gómez
Deacon Saviour Hili
Deacon Richard Lee
Deacon William Williamsen

Ordained in 1983
Deacon Felipe Alvarez
Deacon Thomas Davis
Deacon John Franca
Deacon Eduviges López
Deacon Ernst Paul
Deacon Jesús Soto
Deacon Jose Ramos
Deacon Juan Calvo

Deceased Deacons
Deacon Joseph Cafiero
Deacon Henry Cajiago
Deacon Reynaldo Cordero
Deacon Thomas Heaphy
Deacon Aurelio Pagan
Deacon Francis Ott
Deacon Bruno Pizzimenti
Deacon James Rogan
Deacon Thomas Rogers
Deacon Frank Rosati
Deacon Sergio Ortiz
Deacon Lawrence Sanchez
Deacon Michael Squillante
Deacon Joseph De Cola
Deacon William Johnson
Deacon Robert Nero
Deacon Frank Penner
Deacon Robert Forrester
Deacon Joseph Francois
Deacon Walter A. Bezpaluk
Deacon James Fogarty
Deacon Hector Montalvo
Deacon Vincent Parisi

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