A deacon at Romero's canonization

Last month Padre German Navarro, my pastor and I went to Rome for the canonization of Monseñor Romero and others. Padre German has a very deep devotion to Saint Óscar Romero.

Through the help of a friend in Rome I found out a way to get a ticket for him to concelebrate and mentioned in the e-mail that I was a deacon. I got a message back in Italian that told me to go on the Saturday morning before the canonization to the Vatican liturgy office to get the tickets. I went and stood in line for two hours.

On Sunday morning, we lined up to get in. One of the providential moments while waiting was seeing Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, the Argentinian human rights advocate, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970, and director for some years of SERPAJ, Servicio Paz y Justicia. I had met him when he was on a speaking tour in Iowa.

with Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

But Padre German and I waited a few minutes longer before going through security.

When we entered St. Peter’s square, I tried to follow him but was ushered to another site, inside St. Peter’s Basilica. In the chapel which holds the tomb of Saint John Chrysostom, there were close to a hundred deacons. A few were young transitional deacons but I saw a large groups of older men.

Permanent deacons from the diocese of Brescia

There were about thirty from Brescia, the diocese in which Pope Paul VI grew up and where he was ordained. Interestingly, Pope Paul VI was responsible for implementing the recommendation of the Second Vatican Council to restore the diaconate as a permanent order and allow the ordination of married men. (Pope Paul VI released a motu propio to restore the permanent diaconate on June 18, 1967.)

We vested but didn’t use our own stoles. We were given identical stoles, which were priestly stoles that we wore in the diaconal style with the help of a safety pin.

We were told, in Italian, that we would distribute the consecrated bread and wine to the priests. I couldn’t understand the details of how we would do this but decided that “watch and follow” might work. It did.

We were escorted to sit in chairs by the colonnades of St. Peter’s to the left of the Pope’s throne.

At the offertory we were given a ciborium and a chalice with wine and went to stand to the right of the pope at the altar. There we stood as the pope, bishops, and priests recited the words of consecration. For me it was a moving experience, realizing that what I held in my hands was transformed from mere bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood. It was a humbling experience.

We were led to where the thousand or so priests were sitting and held the sacred vessels while the priests took the Body and Blood of Christ, most receiving by intinction.

After we were finished, we were directed inside St. Peter’s Basilica to receive communion and to put the chalices and ciboria in the Blessed Sacrament chapel.

Afterwards, we went out for the end of Mass. While waiting to leave, I got this picture of Pope Francis.

What did we deacons do at the Mass?

I thought we just had a good spot to participate in the Mass, but we had work to do – to serve. Which is what we’re here for.

And it was a privilege to serve at the Mass for the canonization of seven holy people, including Monseñor Romero, Pope Paul VI, Mother Nazaria who worked in South America, and Nunzio Sulprizio, a nineteen-year old Italian.

His story touched me. Orphaned at an early age, he was taken in by an uncle who worked him hard and mistreated him. When Saint Nunzio got ill, his uncle turned him out of the house. Another uncle took him in and arranged a way for him to get medical care. Dying, he assisted other sick and maintained a deep sense of God's presence.

He is a good saint for many young people here - orphaned or left with a single mother, hardworking, mistreated, ill, but keeping faith. I need to learn more about him. 

We deacons sat under his banner - maybe that's another message for me as I continue to try to serve here in Honduras.