Diaconate

The Diaconate Formation Program collaborates with the Bishop in a ministry of service in forming men for permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Cleveland.

The Diaconate Formation Office will provide an environment through which the Aspirancy and Candidate Path of ongoing discernment and formation for the Permanent Diaconate can thrive in the Diocese of Cleveland.

It is expected that the individual discerning a vocational call will cooperate with God’s grace during this time of discernment.

The Diaconate Formation Office is responsible for the formation of men seeking to pursue a vocation to the permanent diaconate. It is our mission to inform and guide applicants in vocation discernment during the period of Aspirancy and Candidacy and to provide the human, spiritual, pastoral and academic formation to aspirants and candidates for possible ordination as Deacons, and appropriate formation and support to their wives (if married) and families.

Our goal is to enable men to demonstrate the possibility of a diaconal vocation and an appropriate level of readiness for eventual selection to Holy Orders.

Please use our Contact Form to reach the program's director, Deacon George Malec.

The Call to Serve as a Deacon

Watch this video from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as Bishop Octavio Cisneros of the Diocese of Brooklyn outlines how serving as a permanent deacon is an important response to God's invitation to help others.