Eighteen men will be ordained permanent deacons of the Archdiocese of Louisville Aug. 29, joining 109 others who serve the local church in this role.
The ordination, which is private due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be held at St. Patrick Church at 11 a.m. It will be live-streamed at www.archlou.org/2020deacons.
The men who will be ordained this weekend bring a variety of skills and experience to their new role of deacon, said Deacon Denny Nash, director of the Diaconate Office.
“These men have varied backgrounds and talents. I think many people don’t realize that most deacons have a full-time job in the secular world. We are called to bring that experience to the life of the church,” he said in an interview earlier this week.
Deacon Nash said the charisms of the diaconate — to preach, teach and live out the Gospel message — are what today’s deacons are called to do.
“We have three charisms: word, sacrament and charity. We are called to serve the people of God in any way we can, meeting their needs wherever they are,” he said.
One of the primary calls of the deacon, and the most visible, Deacon Nash said, is to assist the pastor in ministering to the needs of the people, particularly at Mass. Deacons can celebrate weddings, baptisms and funerals.
A special focus for deacons is ministering to those on the margins of society, he said. Many deacons serve “outside the four walls of the church,” including ministering to those in hospitals, prisons, nursing homes and those experiencing homelessness and addictions.
Currently, there are 109 active deacons, including 27 senior deacons, who serve in a wide variety of ministries in the archdiocese. There are also 32 deacons who are retired.
The formation process for permanent deacons takes five years to complete and those who are married do so with the support of their wives. The next cohort just completed its first year and expects to be ordained in 2024.
Any Catholic man interested in learning more about the permanent diaconate is invited to contact the Diaconate Office at diaconate@archlou.org or 636-0296.
Those to be ordained and their wives are:
Earl Baker and his wife Ellen, both natives of Louisville, have been married for 38 years. They have two sons and two grandsons.
Baker is a mechanical designer for Hussung Mechanical Contractors, Inc. and has worked there for 16 years. He previously worked in the consulting engineering field.
Mrs. Baker has worked as an instructor at Southern High School for 24 years.
The couple have been active parishioners of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church for the past 36 years. They have been involved with the parish council, regional retreats, marriage preparation, faith development, baptism preparation, choir and served as extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.
Baker is assigned to St. Francis Xavier Church in Mt. Washington, Ky.
Edward J. (Ned) Berghausen IV and his wife Katherine (Kate) Bulinski have been married for eight years and have four young children.
Berghausen graduated from St. Xavier High School and Bellarmine University and has graduate degrees from the University of Notre Dame and St. Meinrad School of Theology. He served in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh and as a teacher at Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education Program. He now works as a theology teacher and campus minister at Mercy Academy.
Dr. Bulinski has a doctoral degree in paleontology from the University of Cincinnati and is an associate professor of geology at Bellarmine University.
The couple have been active members of St. Francis of Assisi Church. Berghausen has served as a lector and taught taekwondo classes at St. Francis. Later this year he will become a lay associate of the Sisters of Mercy. Both Berghausen and Bulinski have been involved with the Young Adult Franciscan Ministry and Kentucky Refugee Ministries.
He is assigned to St. Agnes Church.
Nicholas (Nick) Dachille and his wife Carolyn have been married for 39 years. They have three children and six grandchildren. Dachille has been involved in the fire service for 43 years and is currently a shift captain at the Zoneton Fire Protection District in Shepherdsville, Ky.
Mrs. Dachille works as a general manager of McAlister’s Deli on the Outer Loop.
Dachille has been a lector and eucharistic minister. Both have been involved at their parish of St. Teresa of Calcutta Church and have collected money for the WHAS Crusade for Children.
He is assigned to St. Teresa of Calcutta.
Dr. Dean R. Giulitto and his wife May have been married for 41 years. They have two daughters and a grandson.
Giulitto, a native of Akron, Ohio, is a retired Army family physician with 31 years of active duty service and 10 years of service as a Department of the Army civilian.
Mrs. Giulitto, a native of San Francisco, Calif., is the director of the American Red Cross at Fort Knox.
Giulitto is a lector and daily Mass sacristan at St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky. He is also active in the Louisville Ignatian Spirituality Program homeless men’s retreats.
He is assigned to St. Catherine Church in New Haven, Ky., St. Vincent de Paul Church in New Hope, Ky., and Immaculate Conception Church in Culvertown, Ky.
John Grant and his wife Kimberla have been married for 38 years and they have a daughter and a son. Grant retired from the U.S. Marine Corps after 30 years of service as an aircraft maintenance and personnel manager. He currently works for Inspiritec, a defense contractor at Fort Knox.
Mrs. Grant is a teacher and the STEM coordinator at St. James School in Elizabethtown.
The couple have served in various ministries at St. Patrick Catholic Community at Fort Knox. Previously he has served on parish councils, as a lector and eucharistic minister.
He is assigned to St. Christopher Church in Radcliff, Ky., and will continue to assist St. Patrick in Fort Knox.
Dr. Scott T. Hedges and his wife Beth have been married for 29 years. They have two sons.
Hedges is the chief medical officer for Seven Counties Services, a regional mental health center. Hedges is also a clinical faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine and is a consulting psychiatrist for St. Luke Center.
Mrs. Hedges is a social worker and has spent most of her career devoted to issues related to homelessness and housing equity, particularly for women and families at risk.
Hedges entered the Catholic Church eight years ago and attends St. Martin of Tours Church, where he served as an acolyte, master of ceremonies for the Latin Mass and on the parish council. In addition, he has made permanent promises as a secular Carmelite with the Holy Spirit Community of Discalced Carmelites. Mrs. Hedges is a member of Highland Baptist Church.
Hedges is assigned to St. Martin of Tours.
Christopher (Chris) J. Herbert and his wife Leslie have been married for 33 years. They have five children and two grandchildren.
Herbert, a graduate of DeSales High School, works as a technical business analyst for Optum360, a division of United Health Group.
Mrs. Herbert works in the labor relations department at UPS.
The couple have been members of St. Peter the Apostle Church for the last 29 years, where they have been involved in numerous ministries, including pastoral council, lector coordinator, altar server coordinator, sacristan, child care, picnic worker and Bible studies.
Herbert is assigned to Good Shepherd Church.
Steve Heil and his wife Susie have been married for 34 years and have been members of the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky., since 2003. They have two children and a grandchild.
Heil spent seven years in an executive position with the Boy Scouts of America, followed by 20 years in manufacturing-plant management. For the last 10 years, he has been a business coach with the University of Kentucky’s Small Business Development Center in Elizabethtown.
Mrs. Heil has worked the last 11 years as the secretary at St. Joseph School in Bardstown.
Heil is involved in the Knights of Columbus and is on the Bethlehem High School Board of Directors and Finance Committee. He has served at St. Joseph as a member of the parish council, Men’s Club, usher, lector and eucharistic minister.
Heil is assigned to St. Joseph.
Edward M. (Ted) Marks and his wife Theresa, both Louisville natives, have been married for 27 years and have four children.
Marks has worked for Yum! Brands for 30 years and is director of the information technology department.
Mrs. Marks previously worked as a registered nurse before staying home with their children. She now works as a records clerk for Yum!
Both are active members of St. Bernard Church. Marks has served as a lector, a eucharistic minister, chair of the worship committee and chair of the parish council.
Marks has been assigned to St. Bernard.
David S. Maxwell and his wife Angie have been married for 17 years. They have three daughters and five grandchildren.
Maxwell, a graduate of DeSales High School, is a manager and co-owner of two independent grocery stores in Louisville.
Mrs. Maxwell is an X-ray technician and medical assistant for Baptist Hospital.
The couple are active parishioners of St. Lawrence Church and were involved with the marriage program FOCCUS. Maxwell served on the parish council and is involved in the nursing home ministry and volunteers with Catholic Charities of Louisville at the Franciscan Nursing Home.
Maxwell is assigned to St. Lawrence.
Mark A. Preischel and his wife Holly have been married for 19 years and have a daughter.
Preischel works for UPS Airlines as a structures engineer.
Mrs. Preischel teaches handbells as part of St. Albert the Great Church’s music program.
The couple have been involved in numerous ministries at their parish, St. Albert. Preischel is active in ministry to the homebound and the local nursing homes. He is a former chair of the pastoral council and chaired the committee to create the preschool at St. Albert.
Preischel is assigned to St. Albert.
Peter Rendon and his wife Carmen have been married for 43 years and have two children.
Rendon retired from the Kentucky Air National Guard as a flying crew chief and quality inspector. He remains active with the KYANG in his role as president of the Association of Civilian Technicians.
Mrs. Rendon retired as assistant director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. She now works as the secretary at All Saints Church in Taylorsville, Ky., and serves as auditor for the tribunal of the Archdiocese of Louisville.
They are both active in several ministries at All Saints, including as lectors, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, sacristans and with the RCIA program.
Rendon is assigned to All Saints and St. Michael Church in Fairfield, Ky.
James D. (Jimmy) Richerson and his wife Mary Therese have been married for 20 years. They have a daughter, two sons (deceased) and six grandchildren.
Richerson retired from the Kentucky State Police in 2005 after working as an officer for 22 years. He served in state government in the Transportation Cabinet as the Human Resource Department’s deputy executive director, in Military Affairs as the emergency management assistant director and in the Education Workforce Development Cabinet as the manager of a Kentucky Career Center.
Mrs. Richerson was also an employee of the Kentucky State Police, where she worked as the fatal analysis reporting systems manager and in highway safety. She retired in 2013 as the branch manager of the Highway Safety Program for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. After retirement, Mrs. Richerson served for five years as a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Mission Store in Campbellsville, Ky.
The couple have been active in numerous ministries, including religious education, eucharistic ministers and members of the worship committee. Richerson serves on the pastoral council and as a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Richerson is assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Campbellsville, Ky., Our Lady of the Hills Church in Finley, Ky., and Our Lady of Fatima Church in Phillipsburg, Ky.
Kenneth E. (Ken) Roberts and his wife Teresa (Terry) have been married for 24 years. They have three children.
Roberts is a graduate of St. Xavier High School and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. He currently works as the information technology manager for Metal Sales Manufacturing.
Mrs. Roberts is an English and theology teacher at Presentation Academy.
The couple have been active members at St. Paul Church, extraordinary ministers of holy Communion and lectors.
Roberts is assigned to Mary Queen of Peace Church.
Dean W. Sears and his wife Susan have been married for 37 years. They have four children and nine grandchildren.
Sears was a music teacher in both public and Catholic schools and served as the first principal of Corpus Christi Classical Academy in Simpsonville, Ky. He is currently the administrative assistant for worship and sacraments at St. James Church in Elizabethtown. He has performed with numerous theatrical troops, including the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown and PAC Pro-Am musical theatre productions in Elizabethtown.
Mrs. Sears is a registered nurse and works for Humana Military as a pre-authorization nurse.
The couple have been active in parish life at St. James Church in Elizabethtown, Ky., serving on the school board, picnic committee, faith formation and liturgical planning.
Sears is assigned to St. Theresa of Avila Church in Rhodelia, Ky., and St. Mary
Magdalene of Pazzi Church in Payneville, Ky.
James (Jim) Shields and his wife Lisa have been married for 30 years. They have two daughters. Shields, a native of central Illinois, graduated from Northern Illinois University. In 1985, he moved to Louisville, where he earned a master’s degree and doctorate in psychology from Spalding University.
The couple operate a private psychology practice in Louisville. Shields has been active in ministries at the former Transfiguration of Our Lord Church and St. Bernadette Church.
Shields has been assigned to St. Bernadette.
John P. Strain and his wife Devon have been married for 16 years. They have two children and one due in November.
Strain has worked for Humana for 22 years as a systems engineer, supporting Humana’s government business division. He has served in several parishes in various ministries and volunteered at the Cathedral of the Assumption’s Sandefur Dining Hall.
Mrs. Strain works as a senior quality engineer for Amcor in Shelbyville, Ky. She is a member of West Broadway Baptist Church, where she has served in worship ministries for more than 25 years.
Strain is assigned to the Church of the Annunciation in Shelbyville, Ky., and St. John Chrysostom Church in Eminence, Ky.
Bruce Sullivan and his wife Gloria have been married for 34 years. They have three daughters, two sons and three grandchildren.
Sullivan has been an independent sales representative for Schaeffer Manufacturing Company of St. Louis, Mo., for 24 years.
Mrs. Sullivan has educated their five children at home on the family’s farm in rural Metcalfe County.
Sullivan is a former Protestant minister who converted to Catholicism. He has served as a lector, catechist, cantor, extraordinary minister of holy Communion and Scout master at his parish, St. Helen Church in Glasgow, Ky. He has also served on the board of directors of The Coming Home Network International, an apostolate dedicated primarily to assisting Protestant clergy who are in the process of joining the Catholic Church. He has been active in Catholic apologetics and evangelization, sharing his conversion story of becoming a Catholic. He is the author of “Christ in His Fullness: A Protestant Minister Discovers the Fullness of Christ in the Catholic Church.”
Sullivan is assigned to St. Helen Church in Glasgow and Our Lady of the Caves Church in Horse Cave, Ky.
