Is it “Like father, like son”?
Or is it “Like deacon, like son”?
Maybe it’s both of the above.
Fourteen permanent deacons from The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington were feted for at least 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years of service at the April 15 Mass at the St. Ursula Chapel of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland, and a luncheon that followed.
The clergy attending the gathering included two deacons ordained for service in the archdiocese whose fathers also served as deacons.
If the name Deacon Joseph Curtis Jr. sounds familiar to those of a certain age, it could be that his father, Joseph Sr., had himself been a deacon. What's more, Joseph the elder was part of the very first class of permanent deacons ordained in the Archdiocese of Washington, way back in 1971.
Deacon Joseph Curtis the younger, who was honored for 20 years of diaconal ministry, is now retired from active service as a deacon, but had spent 15 years on the staff at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Deacon Curtis said he never got a nudge for his vocation from his father. Well, he did get one from his heavenly Father, but that was much later.
When Joseph Sr.’s wife died, he moved in with his son and family. “I became his chauffeur when he couldn’t drive anymore,” Deacon Curtis told the Catholic Standard. Frequently, he wanted to visit his fellow deacons and their wives.
Deacon Curtis, on looking back at all those visits now, says, “I went to Deacon Prep.” Moreover, he had the benefit of being at the Josephites’ seminary in Northeast Washington, across the street from the former Providence Hospital, to deepen his faith. He said he also benefited from being around the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence and – in borrowing a page from his father – was in the second-ever graduating class of Archbishop Carroll High School.
After Joseph Jr.’s ordination as a deacon 20 years ago, “I picked up where he left off,” he said. His time at the basilica allowed him the time to see deacons and their wives just as his father had done. In fact, the visits became part of his diaconal duties.
Sadly, Deacon Curtis’ father died in 1993 before his son was ordained a deacon.
That was not the case for Deacon Keith Somerville. Not only was his father a deacon, but so were two of his uncles. Ordained in 2015, his father Deacon John Somerville, and an uncle, Deacon James Somerville, both lived until 2020. The other uncle was Deacon Joseph Somerville, who died in 1996.
Deacon Somerville, at eight years of service, was not among those honored April 15. But he was among a phalanx of deacons who wanted to wish his deacon jubilarians the best.
But Deacon Somerville had the rare treat of meeting Pope Francis on the Washington leg of the pope’s 2015 pastoral visit to the United States. Deacon Somerville’s daughter, Karlena, had been chosen to be among students who gave flowers to the Holy Father upon his arrival to Joint Base Andrews, and her father the deacon also got to meet the pontiff up close and personal. A photo of that moment is easily accessed by him on his cell phone.
Like Deacon Curtis, Deacon Somerville’s father “never said a word,” one way or the other, about considering the diaconate, he said. As one of 14 children in the family, Deacon Somerville’s dad apparently never said a word to any of his brothers, either – not even his twin brother.
Deacon Somerville, assigned to Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, said that he had tried to ignore the call to ministry, “but it just became too strong.” While courting his wife Karen, he told her he was considering the diaconate and asked if she would support him in this vocation. When she replied in the affirmative, “I said, ‘Man, this is the woman I need to marry!’” he recalled.
Beyond the fraternal diaconal bonds, Deacon Somerville said his father coached basketball to the future Deacon Joseph Curtis Jr. at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Southeast Washington.
In his homily, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory — who also celebrated the Mass in the Pastoral Center – noted how deacons “took on major responsibilities in the life of the Church.” Some of the deacons in the early Church, he added, “were eventually chosen popes” because, while priests needed to keep an eye on developments in the local church, deacons “could take a long view” and benefit the Church in that manner.
Despite these contributions from deacons in the Church’s early centuries, there came a time when “they all but disappeared,” Cardinal Gregory said, adding, “Thanks be to God, things have changed.”
The cardinal added how much he values the wives of deacons in fostering their ministry. He instructed the deacons to “listen to them always with an open heart. Tell them that the cardinal said that publicly.”
At the event, one topic at the forefront of the minds of many was how to replenish their ranks. It may have drifted more to the back of their minds when, during the luncheon, the next ordination class of 12 deacons was asked to stand and be recognized. They were met by hearty cheers.
Deacons marking milestone anniversaries
(The Office of the Permanent Diaconate of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington provided the following list of permanent deacons who were honored at an April 15, 2023 Mass celebrated by Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory at the St. Ursula Chapel in the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Hyattsville, Maryland.)
35th anniversary
Deacon William Boesman, St. Thomas Apostle Parish, Washington (retired)
Deacon Frank Klco, St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Upper Marlboro
25th anniversary
Deacon Gerald Collins, Holy Family Parish, Hillcrest Heights
Deacon Bobby White, St. Martin of Tours Parish, Washington, D.C.
20th anniversary
Deacon George Ames Jr., St. Mary’s Parish of Piscataway, Clinton
Deacon Kenneth Angell, Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Washington, D.C.
Deacon Edmund Chrzanowski, St. John Vianney Parish, Prince Frederick
Deacon Joseph Curtis Jr., the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (retired)
Deacon Stephen Huete, Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Deacon Richard Kelly, Diocese of Arlington
15th anniversary
Deacon Carlo Caraballo, St. John Neumann Parish, Gaithersburg
Deacon Juan Cayrampoma, Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Washington, D.C.
Deacon Jose Molina, St. Mark the Evangelist Parish, Hyattsville (retired)
Deacon Nehemias Molina, Christ the King Parish, Silver Spring
