By Lois Rogers | Correspondent

As trumpets sounded on the morning of May 16 and sun filtered through the magnificent windows of St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, filling the nave with light, five men who have devoted years of discernment, study and service to the Trenton Diocese, were ordained to the Order of Deacon.

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On this, the eve of the seventh and final Sunday of Easter, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., ordained Rev. Messrs. Gregg Leo Loreno Abadilla; Christopher J. Colavito; Richard M. Osborn, John Michael Patilla and Daniel McKee Price.

It was a setting rich with tradition, befitting the heritage of the ancient order that dates to the earliest days of the Church as more than 50 priests joined Bishop O’Connell at the altar. Among them was Father Edward J. Griswold, a priest of the Diocese and vice rector of St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, where four of the new deacons studied.

And, in the pews, supporting the new ordinands, were nearly 30 permanent and transitional deacons and a number of seminarians – three from the Trenton Diocese – and others from the seminaries where the new deacons attended.

The cathedral, festooned with white roses, welcomed hundreds of family members and friends including parishioners who had come to know and love the five men. They looked on joyfully as the ceremony unfolded and applauded warmly at the conclusion of the rite.

Ordination as a transitional deacon is the final step for the men in their preparation for priestly ordination expected to occur next year. Ordination to the transitional diaconate  usually occurs after a seminarian has completed at least three years of study in theology and one year before priestly ordination.

Once ordained, the deacons become ordinary ministers of Baptism, are able to preside at weddings, assist the priest at Mass, proclaim the Gospel and preach, as well as preside at wakes and funeral services.

As men committed to becoming priests, they make a promise of celibacy.

Bishop O’Connell set the tone for the event in his warm, opening remarks, calling it a “great day,” which speaks to the transitional diaconate as an order of “service to God and to one another.”

He spoke of how they followed in the footsteps of Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas, the first seven men called to the diaconate, established in the first Christian century as a ministry of service.

“... These five men, our brothers, are the successors to those first seven deacons. And I, as bishop, am a successor to the Apostles who first ordained them. With me, with the priests and in the midst of the entire community of believers, these men will also be ordained and will serve the Church in the parishes of central New Jersey as deacons until their ordination ...” as priests.

He described what their commitments would be until then, how theirs will be a multi-layered ministry, one of proclaiming the Word, preaching and teaching; one of the Altar and the liturgy, as well as a ministry of charity in the care of the poor and the “neediest among us.”

The ordination ritual unfolded as the five men were declared worthy to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders by Father Dennis Apoldite, diocesan director of vocations and House of Discernment who called the candidates, and Msgr. Thomas J. Mullelly, diocesan vicar for clergy and consecrated life, who gave testimony regarding the candidates’ worthiness for ordination. Consent was given in the form of hearty applause by everyone assembled.

The five assented to God’s call to the diaconate and then made a promise of celibacy before offering a promise of obedience to Bishop O’Connell and his successors. The vast cathedral resounded with the plaintive strains of the Litany of Saints chanted by the Diocesan Festival Choir and congregation as the men prostrated themselves face down, showing their dependence on God.

The actual act of ordination followed with the laying on of hands on the heads of the candidates by Bishop O’Connell, who offered a silent prayer of consecration. All eyes were fixed on the five as the new transitional deacons were vested with the garments of their order – the stole and the dalmatic.

The ordination drew to a close with each receiving The Book of the Gospels from Bishop O’Connell, who softly conveyed the ancient words: “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.”

All of the newly ordained deacons assisted Bishop O’Connell at the Mass, which followed directly, and then joined their families, friends and mentors for a reception in the cathedral undercroft.

Charles and Pat Price, who traveled from West Virginia to see their son ordained, said they were uplifted by the “beautiful experience, not only to watch him ordained but to see his contentment in making his vows.”

They spoke of how, before he became centered on his vocation, he had worked a number of jobs “and then one day, he decided what he was going to do. We have seen such a change in him. He has gone through a real process of change.”

Among those surrounding Deacon Christopher Colavito were his brother, Michael, sister-in-law, Lindsay, and their toddler daughter, Isabella. Isabella had been carried up the main aisle of the cathedral as the family served among the gift bearers during the Mass.

Michael Colavito remarked with a wide grin that next year, when his brother is ordained a priest, there will be “another baby to bless. We’re very proud of him and what he’s doing,” he said. “We can’t wait for next year.”

Also present were Nilda and Ralph Frulio, members of St. Barnabas Parish, Bayville, and long time friends of the Colavito family. They shared their joy in the Rev. Mr. Colavito’s ordination. “He has found his way,” said Nilda Frulio. “He is very secure in his decision. He brings people closer to the Church in an awesome way” that they said, has already had very positive results on others. “Ten years ago, when he was a kid, we never thought the path would lead us here,” she said. “This is wonderful.”

Maureen Osborn, the cousin of the Rev. Mr. Osborn, sounded the same note. “This is a very special day for everyone,” said Osborn, a member of Our Lady of Perpetual Help-St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands. She added that the family “knew from the end of high school that he was discerning a vocation. I’m so proud of him. The Church needs young people like him.”

As the reception was drawing to a close, Grace Magee, human resources director in St. James Parish, Red Bank, where the Rev. Mr. Patilla had served a year, smiled as she recalled getting the word that a seminarian would be arriving for parish service.

“He was with us for a year and he had two years to go,” she said. “We bonded with him quickly. Everyone in the parish grew to love him. Nothing ever asked of him was too much.”

Magee said the parish is looking forward to him returning for his diaconate year. “We cannot wait!”

For his part, Rev. Mr. Patilla expressed deep emotion at the ordination, especially the laying on of hands by Bishop O’Connell and “his wonderful words to us.”

He expressed joy that one of his aunts, Mylene Chin, made the cross-country journey from California to be there for him. But his eyes became teary when he lamented the absence of his family in the Philippines. “I think of the family back home,” he said. “God willing, they will be here next year as we finish this part of the journey and that they are with me as we thank the Lord.”