Deacons: 'The living and working expression of the charity of the Church’

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

Photography: TOM TRACY | FC

MIAMI | During a solemn pontifical Mass with ordination Dec. 13, 2025, Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski reminded the four new deacons that their special calling is distinct from that of other clergy.

“Unlike priests whose identity is defined by their association with the altar, the table of sacrifice, the deacon’s identity is associated with another table,” the archbishop said at St. Mary Cathedral as he ordained the four men, three of whom are permanent deacons and one who is a transitional deacon expected to be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Miami.

The ordination Mass followed a night of vespers Dec. 12 at St. Pius X Parish in Fort Lauderdale.

“Yes, deacons assist at the altar; but they are called primarily to that other ‘service of the table’ referred to in the Acts of the Apostles: namely, the care of the orphans and widows,” Archbishop Wenski said.

“The ministry of charity is at the origin of the institution of the diaconate. As co-workers with the bishop and priests, deacons should be the living and working expression of the charity of the Church,” he said.

The priest, because he offers the sacrifice that is the pledge and foretaste of future glory, witnesses through his sacramental ministry to hope. The deacon, on the other hand, is to be a witness to charity, the archbishop added.

He went on to explain that after the Second Vatican Council the diaconate was restored as a permanent ministry and not only as a transitional step toward the priesthood. It was hoped that “the service of the table” that characterized the ministry of the first deacons would be translated into a modern idiom.

“In other words, deacons are ordained to inspire, to promote and to help coordinate the service that the whole Church must undertake in imitation of Christ. While exercising a threefold diakonia, the service of the Word, the service of the Eucharist and the service of the poor, the deacon’s major emphasis is to be of service to the poor,” said the archbishop.

Here are brief biographies of the new deacons.

Teodoro Gonzalez

A native of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, Gonzalez, 61, received the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, first Communion and confirmation at Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. He and his wife, Angela Maria, received the sacrament of matrimony at Cristo Salvador Church in York City, Pennsylvania. They have been married for 40 years. They have five children, three sons, Andres, Daniel and Esteban, and two daughters, Andrea and Margarita, and two grandchildren, Isaias and Lenny. Gonzalez works as a Florida Power and Light supervisor and is a member of St. Boniface Parish in Pembroke Pines.

 

 

 

 

Ramon Carlos Palacio

A native of Puerto Padre, Oriente, Cuba, Palacio, 65, was baptized at Parroquia San José, Puerto Padre, Cuba. He received the sacraments of reconciliation and first Communion at St. John the Apostle Church in Hialeah and confirmation at Our Lady of the Lakes Church in Miami Lakes. He and his wife, Margarita Fatima, were married at St. John the Apostle Church in Hialeah. They have been married for 47 years. They have three children, Erick Anthony, Kristen Lauren and Nicole Ashley, and four grandchildren, Jayden, Erin, Aria and Grayson. Palacio works as an attorney and is a member of St. Edward Parish in Pembroke Pines.

 

 

 

 

 

Gustavo Adolfo Roversi

A native of Valencia, Venezuela, Roversi, 62, received the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, first Communion, confirmation and matrimony at Parroquia de San Blas in Valencia, Venezuela. He has been married to Maria Antonieta for 37 years. They have four children, Fiorella, Daniela, Gustavo and Maria and five grandchildren, Valentina, Josue, Samuel, Emilia and Mateo. Roversi is a business owner and a member of the Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christian David Mendieta

A native of Masaya, Nicaragua, and a member of St. Agatha Parish in Miami, Mendieta, 29, is a transitional deacon studying for the priesthood. He received the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation, first Communion and confirmation at Parroquia San Juan Bautista in Masaya, Nicaragua. After studying for the priesthood in Central America, in April 2019, he fled Nicaragua due to the socio-political crisis there and increasing persecution of the Catholic Church. He arrived in the United States in 2022 and continues his studies at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach.

 

 

 

 

The deacon formation program is a very challenging program designed to deepen the spiritual sense of the individual while preparing the candidate to be a public minister in the Church, according to Deacon Victor Pimentel, executive director of the Office for the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Miami.

“Over a period of six years these men have developed the human, intellectual, spiritual, liturgical, and pastoral aspects of their diaconate ministry,” Deacon Pimentel told The Florida Catholic. “I pray that the Lord bless them as they serve Him in the ministries of the Word, the Altar, and Charity. May their ministerial service be a source of grace for them, as they seek to persevere in holiness in service to God's people.”