Q. Why are priests ordained a deacon for a year first? Is it to practice?
A. This question, like so many questions regarding the Church, has a very simple answer that has, behind it, thousands of years of self-reflection to arrive at that answer. So the simple answer is ‘because they have to’ and ‘sort of.’
The Sacrament of Holy Orders, unlike the other sacraments, is received in “degrees” according to what order one is being ordained to: “Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation (episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate) are all three conferred by a sacramental act called ‘ordination,’ that is, by the sacrament of Holy Orders” (CCC 1554).
Each “degree” builds upon the other, thus, to be ordained a priest you must first be ordained a deacon and to be a bishop you must first be ordained a priest. The nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders necessitates a priest be ordained a deacon before he can be ordained a priest.
However, there is nothing in the nature of the Sacrament of Holy Orders that prevents a man from being ordained a deacon and then immediately being ordained a priest. Indeed, such practices were not uncommon throughout much of the life of the Church. The requirement that a man who intends to be ordained a priest serve as a deacon for a period of time is a legal one that the Church has imposed upon Herself: “After a deacon has completed the curriculum of studies and before he is promoted to the presbyterate, he is to take part in pastoral care, exercising the diaconal order, for a suitable time defined by the bishop or competent major superior” (c. 1032 §2).
In the U.S., the “suitable time” is established by the Program for Priestly Formation (usually referred to as the PPF). The Sixth Edition of the PPF was just recently approved by the Apostolic See and includes a notable change in formation that speaks very well to the nature of this question.
The latest PPF instituted a “vocational synthesis” period that will last for the last sixth months of a transitional deacon’s formation period, prior to his priestly ordination. The transitional deacon will spend these six months in a parish in his diocese, serving as a deacon. As the PPF itself says, this period is not about on-the-job training: “The goal is not so much acquiring new pastoral skills—though these certainly will be gained—but more adjusting well to the life of ministry before advancing to priestly ordination. It is about the deacon’s readiness to assume the duties of full-time priestly ministry.”
So while in essence yes, a priest is ordained a deacon to “practice,” the deeper reality is that it gives a man time to learn to live the life of a cleric prior to being assigned to a parish.
Speaking from experience, your first year as a priest is a whirlwind of sacraments, teaching, meetings, learning to live in a rectory with other priests, and trying to walk with people during the best and worst times of their lives. Having a year to enter into life as a cleric without all of that is a real blessing. The recent changes to the PPF that allow for a deacon to enter into life as a cleric without spending the whole year in a classroom will be an even greater blessing.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
