Deacon numbers in Utah run counter to national trends

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The average age of deacons in the Diocese of Salt Lake City is 68; nationally, the average age is closer to 50. The deacons are shown at the 2018 Chrism Mass.

SALT LAKE CITY — The number of permanent deacons in the United States has grown steadily since the ministry was restored following the Second Vatican Council which concluded in 1965, according to statistics recently released by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. In 2020, there were 18,075 permanent deacons in the U.S., a slight decrease of 118 deacons from the previous year. Based on the trend, there will likely be 19,478 permanent deacons by 2026.

In the Diocese of Salt Lake City, the number of deacons is not following that trend. The diaconate was restored as a permanent order of ministry in the diocese in 1976. That year the first deacons were ordained. From 1976 to 2010, the diaconate in the diocese increased steadily. However, since 2010, largely due to age, while the total number of deacons has remained steady, the number of deacons in active ministry has declined significantly, by about 25 percent, said Deacon Scott Dodge, director of the diocesan Office of the Diaconate.

Currently there are 84 permanent deacons in the diocese. Of those, 58 are in active ministry in parishes and eight are retired; the remainder are not in active ministry in Utah, Deacon Dodge said.

The last class of deacons in the diocese, with five men, was ordained in January 2020. Another is being formed.

The average age of active permanent deacons in the Diocese of Salt Lake City is 68; those in the diaconate program are expected to be mostly in their 50s. That number will probably decline over the next several years until new deacons are ordained, Deacon Dodge said.

Nationally, about 20 percent of candidates are in their 30s or 40s, about 45 percent are in their 50s and 33 percent are age 60 or older.

Nationally, 66 percent of deacon candidates are white/Anglo/Caucasian, while 26 percent are Hispanic/Latino. In Utah, about 40 percent of deacons are Hispanic, 57 percent are white, and 3 percent are Asian-Pacific Islanders. (The candidates for the upcoming diaconate class have not been finalized). The diocese has ordained one African-American deacon, Willie Folkes; he was ordained in 2004 and died in 2017.

A new English-speaking diaconate class of about 10  men will start in January. About a third of them are bilingual English/Spanish, Deacon Dodge said. Previous classes went through a four-year formation, but the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops has increased the diaconate formation process to six years so these candidates should be ordained in 2027. Deacon Dodge anticipates that the number of deacons in active ministry in the diocese will decline because of age-related issues until those candidates are ordained.

The diocese, which has held diaconate classes intermittently since 1976, now plans to initiate new classes of deacons in both English and Spanish every three years, Deacon Dodge said. The two tracks will probably share some classes, and the English-speaking candidates will be expected to learn “pastoral” Spanish, he said.

“Moving forward with an influx of deacons at that kind of regular interval, we’ll have a positive trend again,” he added.