Welcome

Dear families and friends in Christ,

Welcome to the diaconate ordination website of the Class of 2025! In the Fall of 2024, members of the Class of 2025 will be ordained to the Order of Deacons at the Papal Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. It is my pleasure to welcome and introduce you to these resources on behalf of the Class of 2025. 

Throughout the following pages, you will find general information about the diaconate ordination, the liturgy, and the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter. Additionally, there is a page with resources that can aid you in planning your trip to the Eternal City for the ordination. 

Ordination to the diaconate marks the last stage in seminary formation before ordination to the priesthood. This website also allows you a glimpse into the preparations undertaken by the class leading up to the ordination by posting reflections on the promises we will make at ordination — as well as details about the ordination liturgy itself. The ordination brings about a profound change in the life of the man who receives it, as he passes from the lay to the clerical state. At the ordination, the man makes a public commitment to certain promises, namely, obedience to his ordinary, maintaining a life of chaste celibacy, and being a man of prayer — specifically by praying the Liturgy of the Hours on behalf of the Church and the world. 

Through the laying on of hands and the prayer of ordination by a bishop, the man is configured to Christ the Servant and is charged with assisting in a new way in the Church’s liturgical worship — especially by proclaiming the Gospel, preaching, and performing works of charity. 

We are blessed to have been accompanied throughout these past years of formation by the prayers and support of so many of you, and we kindly ask for your continued prayers and support as we draw nearer to the day of our diaconate ordination.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Eternal City in September!

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Will Robbins ‘25, Diocese of Beaumont

Chairman of the Diaconate Planning Committee