OVIEDO  | Formed to be deacons for a missionary church for villagers living in the central mountain range of the Dominican Republic, Jesús “Nilson” Delgado and Manuel “Yadir” Díaz Santos leave their homeland for the first time to participate in a diaconate retreat April 25-27. They found the experience to be transformative.

Deacon Yadir and his wife, Denia, stayed with Deacon Angelo Guevara and his wife, Sorelena. Deacon Nilson and his wife, Yoselin, stayed with Deacon Miguel and his wife, Maira. They participated in Mass, a parish anniversary celebration, a tour of the mission office at the chancery, and had lunch hosted by Bishop John Noonan.

As Yoselin prepared for the trip, she wondered if it was all worth it. Everyone was working hard to make this happen, from Raquel Céspedes, mission office director, to Deacon Carlos Sola, who formed the deacons, and Father Fred Ruse, who inspired them from the start. And, of course, the diaconate office that invited them to the Spanish Diaconate retreat and facilitated their presence. Today, Yoselin’s heart is full.

“I would have never thought the retreat would touch me so deeply. I learned, as the wife of a deacon, I have assumed a commitment out of love. As the Bible says, ‘What you receive by grace, you will also share by grace,’” she said.

She is committed to sharing the Word. “Maybe my husband goes out to speak that Word and I remain at home. But I stay praying that the Word reaches those for whom it is intended. Or I stay preparing lunch, taking care of the children or the house. It is a work done in collaboration, strengthened by a higher power, which is the Holy Spirit. That Spirit keeps us strong and able to carry on God’s work.”

Deacon Nilson shares his wife’s assessment and was overwhelmed at the welcome received, first by the many fellow Dominican deacons they met, but also by the rest of the deacons who took them in immediately. He became emotional, explaining the instant connection. “There was a shared diaconal family,” he said through tears.

After making the long journey from the remote hills of the Dominican Republic to Orlando, the couple found an even deeper appreciation for what missioners sacrificed over the past 30 years to help them, the distance they traveled and the comforts they left behind.

Deacons Nilson and Yadir show their willingness to do the same for their people, God’s people, in the way they live. Both were struck by the call to live out the diaconate as Pope Francis imagined the clergy should. Recalling the Pope’s words Deacon Nilson said, “The priest who does not have dust on his shoe is not a good priest. It is to go to the margins, the peripheries. It is to go where no one wants to go, as Father Fred (Ruse) says and did. There are many lacking evangelization and the love of God who are searching for a word of hope. These are things we carry in our hearts from Pope Francis.”

Deacon Yadir admits he saw the diaconate “through rose-colored glasses.” Now serving almost seven years he recalls, “It was explained to me there are challenges. But we also see how God Himself strengthens you because you chose to serve Him.” He said for him the retreat was a renewal of his diaconal commitment and marriage vows.

The retreat, whose theme was The Diaconal Family: Symbol of Hope, helped him. “We see that in the diaconal family there are three persons: the deacon, his wife, and God at the center. We are called to live this way as models for others — through our actions, manner of being, in the way we speak. And hopefully others will want to imitate our way of life. We’ve been ordained to be an example, forever,” he said.

Denia too sees an affirmation of her role and commitment as the primary supporter of her husband’s work, of their family’s work of evangelization. When he is exhausted, she helps him prepare to serve the communities often an hour away.

Deacons Nilson and Yadir serve the nine communities in Las Lomas, who have not seen a local priest for a decade. In addition, they serve the community of Las Lajas and fill in for a priest in a nearby town for one month in the summer. Rain or shine, they rotate to ensure each community sees them every other week. In Las Lajas, they celebrated 29 Baptisms in one day.

“This is a life of self-giving,” Deacon Yadir said. “We’ve each been strengthened by pouring ourselves out. The diaconate isn’t just to distribute Holy Communion. It is to stop and talk to people, to listen to their sorrows and joys. Most do not need you to speak, but for you to listen to them in silence. Pope Francis calls us to listen from the silence. And when you pause to listen and give them your shoulder to cry on, they see Christ.”

Noting how often one does not know what they are missing, the two men spoke of how they lived in isolation, occasionally meeting with other deacons in the city, but mostly for social gathering — not spiritual development. “We were orphans before,” Deacon Yadir told Deacon Nilson. “At least we have one another. But now we can count on these deacons.” Fifteen of the 30 deacons attending the retreat have committed to visiting them to see how and where they serve. “They will see the precarious conditions in which so many live. Their support sustains us going forward,” he said.

The impact of their visit not only affected them, but their hosts as well. “They live a diaconate in action, in thanksgiving, in spending themselves for their communities,” Deacon Miguel said. “We often worry about first world problems. They are living in another world, another reality. How beautiful that each day they live the sacrificial life God calls us to live. As they say, they dirty their feet. They live the reality of what diaconate is: service.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, May 02, 2025