Following their hearts to serve the Lord: Why Filipino-Canadians are flocking to permanent diaconate

As Deacon Greg Canero put on his vestments to participate in his first Mass as a permanent deacon at St. Joseph’s Church in Mission this fall, he was both nervous and excited. “I was able to proclaim the Gospel for the first time in my life as a minister of the Church,” Deacon Canero recalled. “I was looking forward to it and was excited.”

The deaconate was the fulfilment of a long-held dream. Indeed, through all the years of his Catholic-school upbringing in Vancouver, from St. Andrew’s Elementary to St. Patrick’s Regional Secondary, Deacon Canero, now a 49-year-old federal public servant, knew he was destined for something more in the service of God.

Serving the Church is a calling many Filipino Catholic children have in a corner of their heart, which may explain why so many of the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s 34 permanent deacons are Filipino.

For families like Deacon Canero’s and the five other Filipino-Canadian deacons who have been ordained in the 10 years since Archbishop J. Michael Miller officially restored the permanent diaconate, serving as a permanent deacon is especially rewarding because the permanent diaconate is not available in the Philippines.

Indeed, for most Filipinos, especially those who grew up in the Philippines, a deacon was simply a young man studying to become a priest. So, when the opportunity came for Filipino men to join the ministry, these six men prayed, discerned, and then wasted no time in answering the call.

The first three to enter the deaconate were Deacon Greg Barcelon, 71, who heads the Filipino Ministry of the Archdiocese of Vancouver and serves at All Saints Parish in Coquitlam; Deacon Raul Abella, 68, who is retired and serves at Precious Blood in Surrey; Deacon Alvin Rint, 54, who serves at Holy Rosary Cathedral and also works at the Catholic Charities Men’s Shelter.

Following later were Vic Gallamos, 67, who is retired and now serves at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and the Prison Ministry; Deacon Wilfred Victoria, 65, a marketing and sales consultant who serves at St Monica’s Parish in Richmond and is a chaplain at the Vancouver International Airport; and the aforementioned Deacon Greg Canero.

All six men attributed their calling to their religious upbringing. “I come from a family of priests and nuns,” Deacon Gallamos said. “The call to the diaconate was a slow burn for me. I really didn’t see myself serving as a deacon, but in God’s time, I answered his call.”

All the deacons agreed that God chose them, and not the other way around. “One just discerns the right time,” Deacon Gallamos said with a smile. “The slow burn becomes a fire, and that fire lights up the world.”

While some of the deacons heard the call recently, others heard it earlier. Deacon Victoria heard the call as a student at St. Andrew’s School in Paranaque, the Philippines, where the boys were asked if they were interested in entering the priesthood. “I was thinking about it then but had to back out after realizing it was going to cost quite a sum,” he said, explaining that his family would not have been able to afford the cost.

A few of his classmates did enter priesthood, and one is now a cardinal who encouraged Deacon Victoria to follow his calling. Another friend is a permanent deacon in San Francisco.

Deacon Victoria said he has long been devoted to the saints, especially Our Lady of Perpetual Help, whose shrine in Baclaran, Manila, was his refuge as a student at the University of Santo Tomas. “I consider myself a devoted ‘Baclaran boy,’ and I would take a   jeepney ride to the other end of Paranaque, where my home was, just to make sure I attended the Wednesday novenas to our Blessed Mother,” he said.

Deacon Victoria said the support of his wife, Evelyn, was crucial to his successful journey to the deaconate. She joined him in constant prayer “for guidance and strength as we both discerned the permanent diaconate program,” he said. ”We also discussed and prayed about this with our children.” Together with the other wives, Evelyn attended classes at St. Mark’s College.

Evelyn said she could not hold back her tears when her husband delivered his first homily. “I could hear my heart pounding and there was a seeming deafening silence in the Church,” she said. “It felt like the Holy Spirit was surrounding us.”

“Our spouses have to be involved,” said Deacon Gallamos. Deacon Canero agreed. “From the very beginning, my discernment for the permanent diaconate thankfully involved my wife, Methelyn,” he said. “Together, as a family, we prayed for guidance to help in leading us toward God’s will and in cooperating with His plan for me and for my family.”

Their sons, Noah and Nathan, were also part of the discernment; as well, prayers from his Couples for Christ community helped him on his journey, Deacon Canero said.

While balancing day jobs and family duties with church services and academics is not the easiest of roads to travel, the permanent deacons are finding that the journey offers rich rewards. “The greatest triumph that has come along in my journey is having a better understanding of who I am and a desire to deepen my relationship with Jesus,” Deacon Canero said.

“He has become more real for me and my family, and that will stay on for us and for the next generation of Caneros.”

A version of this story first appeared in the Philippine edition of Asian News Today.