The Deacon

The election of Pope Leo XIV marks a historic and spiritually resonant moment in the life of the universal Church. As the bishop of Rome, the successor of Peter, and the visible sign of unity within the body of Christ, the pope bears the ancient and humbling title servus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God. This title is not merely honorary; it reveals the heart of the Petrine ministry as one of profound diakonia. The pope, configured to Christ the Servant, exercises his universal ministry through service, shepherding and self-gift. For deacons, who are sacramentally configured to the same Christ in his servant form, the papacy offers a mirror, a model and a mission. In the person of Pope Leo XIV, with his deep Augustinian spirituality and missionary heart, the diaconate finds renewed inspiration to live out its vocation with even greater depth, fidelity and communion. 

His pontificate invites deacons around the world to contemplate their identity through the lens of the one who leads the Church by serving it and to rediscover the intrinsic unity between the papal office and the diaconal call. With this in mind, here are a few initial observations.

A Theological Vision Rooted in Service

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, brings to the See of Peter a rich and deeply lived experience of missionary discipleship. As a professed member of the Order of St. Augustine, his vocation has been shaped by the rule and spirituality of St. Augustine, whose theology of the heart — cor inquietum — speaks to the soul’s restless yearning for God. After years of formation and leadership within the Augustinian community, Pope Leo was sent to Peru, where he ministered for over two decades, not as an outsider, but as one who fully entered into the life of the people he served, ultimately embracing Peruvian citizenship as a sign of pastoral solidarity and incarnational presence.

His time in Peru was not only missionary in function but deeply pastoral in spirit — marked by a commitment to the poor, the marginalized and the Indigenous communities. It was there that his theology became flesh, forged in the crucible of human suffering and joyful resilience. As bishop of Chiclayo and later as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, he brought this missionary heart to bear on the universal Church, emphasizing the primacy of listening, accompaniment and ecclesial communion.

At the center of Pope Leo’s spiritual and theological vision is the Augustinian triad of interiority, community and the restless pursuit of truth. These are not abstract ideals but lived realities that animate the diaconal vocation. Like the Holy Father, deacons are called to be men of deep interior life, grounded in contemplative prayer and attentive to the movements of the Holy Spirit. They are called to foster communion — not only within the Church, but also as a bridge between the sacred and the secular, the liturgy and the world. And they are called to serve with a holy restlessness, never settling for comfort or complacency, but always seeking new ways to reveal the merciful face of Christ.

Liturgical Fidelity and Doctrinal Clarity

The Church’s way of praying (lex orandi) shapes her way of believing (lex credendi), and Pope Leo XIV’s approach to the liturgy will undoubtedly influence how sacred ministers, including deacons, understand and fulfill their roles. A renewed emphasis on the beauty, reverence and order of divine worship can lead to deeper formation for deacons in the ars celebrandi. This is not for the sake of aesthetics alone, but because reverent liturgy forms the heart of the servant. It shapes the deacon’s identity not just as a minister of word and charity, but as one who stands at the altar in holy fear and humble love.

Likewise, Pope Leo XIV’s commitment to doctrinal fidelity and clarity in preaching calls deacons to remain rooted in the teachings of the Church, faithfully handing on what they themselves have received. Under his guidance, the Spirit may be inviting a deeper harmony between the homily and the heart, between sound doctrine and spiritual encounter. 

Formation in the School of the Church

As the Church deepens her understanding of the diaconate, new directives or exhortations may shape the way deacons are formed. Whether through apostolic letters, synodal reflections or revisions to canonical norms, Pope Leo XIV may bring fresh insight into how deacons are prepared to serve. These insights often reach the grassroots level, diocesan formation programs, national directories and pastoral guidelines, gradually but meaningfully reshaping the path from discernment to ordination.

Here, the “RIM Dynamic” (Relationship, Identity, Mission) found in my book, “Encountering Christ the Servant” (OSV, $20.95), offers a helpful framework. If the new pontiff places a premium on relational ministry, especially among the marginalized or unchurched, then deacons must be formed not simply as administrators of sacraments, but as men attuned to the human heart, capable of accompaniment and animated by mercy. This calls for spiritual formation that fosters silence, receptivity and the interiority necessary to hear and reflect the voice of Christ.

Ecclesial mission pastoral deployment is never arbitrary. It is an ecclesial discernment rooted in the mission of the bishop and the needs of the faithful. A pope who speaks often of the “peripheries,” whether geographical, existential or moral, may inspire bishops to send deacons to places of hidden suffering and unseen poverty. Prisons, hospitals, addiction centers and shelters may once again become the preferred soil in which the diaconate bears fruit. A pope who calls the Church to renew her parish life may see deacons as vital to adult catechesis, evangelization teams and the spiritual renewal of families.

In each of these scenarios, the deacon is called to embody the Church’s maternal care, reaching into the world not with power, but with presence — not with strategy alone, but with sacramentality.

Unity with the Petrine Ministry

Perhaps most importantly, a new pope can rekindle in the diaconate a deeper sense of ecclesial identity. Deacons, as ordained clergy, are not freelancers in the vineyard but servants of the vineyard keeper. Their communion with the bishop and, through him, with the Roman pontiff, is not merely juridical but profoundly theological. It is a communion that reflects the unity of the Church herself.

When the Holy Father speaks, prays and teaches, the deacon listens, not out of mere obedience but out of a desire to breathe with the heart of the Church. He takes that breath into his ministry, into his homily, his pastoral visits, his spiritual direction, his quiet hours before the Blessed Sacrament.

A Call to Deeper Prayer

The election of Pope Leo XIV does not redefine the diaconate; it cannot. But it does refine the way we live it. It retunes our hearts to the voice of the Spirit echoing through Peter so that we might more attentively and obediently serve the Word made flesh. It invites us to renew our “yes” with deeper intentionality, responding to a new shepherd with hearts open to communion, mission and grace. 

In this sacred moment, let us turn above all to prayer. Let us enter into the stillness where the voice of the Shepherd is most clearly heard. As deacons, men configured to Christ the Servant, our fidelity must be rooted in contemplation before it becomes fruitful in action. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to deepen our interior life, to purify our desires, and to attune us to the heart of the Church.

Let us then await this new voice, the voice of Pope Leo XIV, with docility and silence, not only as servants who listen, but as servants who pray. And from this posture of prayerful receptivity, let us go forth to serve — more fully, more faithfully, more fruitfully — in the heart of the Church, in communion with the Bishop of Rome and in the radiant image of Christ the Servant.