By MARY STADNYK
Associate Editor
UPDATED Feb. 14, 2025
Eight men reached a milestone in their formation as permanent deacons Feb. 13 when they were instituted in the ministry of acolyte by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Acolytes are instituted to serve at the altar, to assist the priest and deacon, and as special ministers to administer Holy Communion to the faithful at the liturgy and to the sick.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2025 Installation of Acolytes
“As acolytes preparing for your ordination as deacons, you will be given the care and custody of the altar and what it contains and offers: the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily during the Mass he celebrated in St. Anthony Church, Hamilton.
“In a sacramental ministry, you will give the faithful the greatest treasure we have, the Real Presence, the sacramental presence of the Son of God, who gave himself to us and who gave his life for us,” he said.
The newly instituted acolytes are: Stan T. Dela Paz, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Hightstown; Joseph G. Ferrise, St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro; Fernando H. Machado, St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold; David B. Madigan, St. Gregory the Great Parish, Hamilton Square; James M. McKnight, Holy Cross Parish, Rumson; Arismendy Rodriguez, St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton; Leo L. Rosales, St. David the King Parish, Princeton Junction, and Beniamino Tramo, St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton.
Because of a prior commitment, deacon candidate Graham A. Mulholland of St. Aloysius Parish, Jackson, was unable to be present for the Mass. Mulholland will be instituted as an acolyte at a later date.
Poignant Ministry
“The Eucharist is the center of our lives and must always be,” Bishop O’Connell said. “There can be no doubt about that. No lack of reverence is ever acceptable. No carelessness is ever acceptable. What you touch, what you care for, what you adore, what you bring to the sick is the very person of Jesus Christ, hidden in bread and wine but fully present.
“The Eucharist is, as the Church teaches, the source and summit of our Christian life,” Bishop O’Connell said. “As acolytes, you will hold in your hands, you will offer to the faithful, you will expose on the altar, you will nourish the sick with the Bread of Life.”
Citing from the official instruction for the rite, Bishop O’Connell said:
“Dear sons in Christ, as people chosen for the ministry of acolyte, you will have a special role in the Church’s ministry. The summit and source of the Church’s life is the Eucharist, which builds up the Christian community and makes it grow. … Because you are specially called to this ministry, you should strive to live more fully by the Lord’s sacrifice and to be molded more perfectly in its likeness.
“You should seek to understand the deep spiritual meaning of what you do, so that you may offer yourselves daily to God as spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Him through Jesus Christ.”
Wearing white albs and sitting together as a class during the Mass, each of the men approached the altar for the institution rite and knelt before the Bishop. The Bishop then placed a paten and chalice in the hands of each candidate, saying, “Take this vessel with the bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of His Church.”
Each candidate replied “Amen.”
Heeding the Call
Father Christopher Colavito, diocesan director of vocations and director of the diaconate formation program, explained that the installation of an acolyte is an important and major step in the formation of permanent deacons.
“As acolytes,” he said, the men “are permitted to do many things that are reserved to such a ministry, such as preparing the altar for Mass, purifying vessels after Communion and exposing and reposing (without Benediction) the Blessed Sacrament for Adoration.
“This allows the man to get comfortable working in the sanctuary and at the altar in preparation for serving as a deacon during the Mass in the future,” Father Colavito said.
Reflecting on the newly instituted class of acolytes, Father Colavito said they represent all aspects of the Diocese in terms of its diversity of region, ethnicity and work background.
“They have really come together as a group over the years and have created a bond of friendship, respect and deep faith with each other,” he said, noting that along with serving as the director of the formation program, he also has the “honor of teaching several of their classes during their years of formation which has allowed me to really get to know them as a group, and even more importantly, as individuals who are pursing God’s will in seeking out to serve the Church as permanent deacons.”
For Ferrise and Tramo, the occasion offered a chance to reflect on their respective diaconate journeys.
While Tramo said the Church has been an important part of his life ever since he was a child, it was only last year when he “felt the Holy Spirit calling me to something more.”
At first, the husband and father of three children – ages 18, 15 and 12 – admitted he wasn’t certain that the time was right to pursue a vocation, given his responsibilities at home and committing to the diaconate formation. But within a month, he changed his mind.
“I felt a pull in my heart that wouldn’t go away,” he said. “My family said, ‘You should do it.’ I had their blessing.”
Ferrise has discerned his call to be a deacon for the past 10 years, and it’s his desire to serve the Church and to help minister to the sick and those with addictions and to feed the hungry.
He noted his vocation was largely inspired by his experience caring for his wife during her cancer journey. When he would visit her in the hospital, he would also spend time visiting and praying with other patients.
“It’s a great honor and privilege to be selected to be in the diaconate formation and to serve God and his Church,” Ferrise said.
As part of the Rite for Institution of Acolytes, Bishop O’Connell presents the paten and chalice to deacon candidate Joseph G. Ferrise of St. Gabriel Parish, Marlboro. Joe Moore photo