Two deacons of the Diocese of Columbus have been appointed to newly created diocesan positions, said Deacon Frank Iannarino, director of the diocese’s Office for the Diaconate.
Deacon Stephen Petrill of Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare Church has been selected as associate director of the diaconate office, and Deacon Jeffrey Fortkamp of Columbus Our Lady of Peace Church is the diocese’s new associate director of cemeteries. They are continuing to serve their respective parishes in addition to assuming their new roles.
“Deacon Petrill will assist me with the formation of deacon candidates and with establishment of the Josephinum Institute for the Diaconate (JDI) as a fully online program,” Deacon Iannarino said.
The Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus established the institute in 2007 to strengthen pre- and post-ordination diaconal formation on a national and worldwide basis. It offers courses in English and Spanish accenting both the theoretical and practical dimensions of theology.
Deacon Petrill is a member of the Josephinum board of trustees, and Deacon Iannarino serves on the JDI advisory board. The Josephinum recently received a grant of $878,790 from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to help the JDI in its mission.
Before the start of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, candidates for the diaconate in the Diocese of Columbus had been attending weekly classes offered by the institute on the Josephinum campus, while the institute offered those classes through distance learning to dioceses outside Columbus.
Columbus deacon candidates began taking those classes online because of restrictions on public gatherings resulting from the pandemic. After the restrictions were eased, a decision was made to end the institute’s in-person classes and switch to a fully online format.
“Candidates are continuing to meet face-to-face weekly to build fraternal support for each other and to discuss liturgical and pastoral aspects of the diaconate that the classes don’t cover,” Deacon Iannarino said. “Having all the institute’s classes online gives the candidates more convenience and flexibility in choosing the times when they will be taking those courses.
“The switch to online also allows the classes to be taught by outstanding academics and theologians from across the nation. Under the in-person format, many of the classes were taught by diocesan priests. With the changes which are likely to result from the diocese’s Real Presence Real Future initiative, it would be difficult for many of those priests to continue in a teaching role as their pastoral responsibilities change.”
Deacon Iannarino said Deacon Petrill, a psychology professor at Ohio State University, was ideal for leading the institute’s transition to fully online learning because he was part of a similar transition at OSU. Deacon Petrill was ordained to the diaconate in 2016 and served at Powell St. Joan of Arc Church until being transferred to St. Brigid of Kildare.
Deacon Iannarino also said that with many deacons likely to take on increased roles in parishes as a result of the Real Presence Real Future initiative, it’s likely that the role of diaconate office director will be split, with Deacon Petrill eventually becoming director of diaconal formation for the diocese and Deacon Iannarino becoming director of diaconal ministry and life.
“There hasn’t been an associate director in the diaconate office for several years, since the retirement of the late Deacon Tom Johnston,” Deacon Iannarino said. “With the diocese adding deacons every few years, I’ve felt the need for an associate, but Bishop (Frederick) Campbell and Bishop (Robert) Brennan didn’t feel the time was right.
“Bishop (Earl) Fernandes taught deacon formation classes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and when I asked him about having an associate, he agreed. He also shared with me the importance of having a strong deacon advisory board to assist the bishop, the diocese and myself. He said he’s going to be depending on deacons to play a much more significant role in parish administration once the Real Presence Real Future initiative is fully implemented.”
Deacon Iannarino said Deacon Fortkamp, a deacon since 2008 and a member of the Cristo Rey Columbus High School board of directors, was “a perfect choice” for the position of associate cemeteries director because he is an attorney specializing in property management.
“Dealing with property issues is a key to successful operation of a cemetery, and that’s a talent Deacon Fortkamp has displayed throughout his career in law,” he said. “His appointment also was made with an eye on the future. Both (diocesan cemeteries director) Rich Finn and myself are getting close to retirement, and we feel he would be an excellent successor for Rich.
“He started in his new position in July and immediately got to work overseeing the remodeling and rededication of Our Mother of Sorrows Chapel at St. Joseph Cemetery, so he has shown his capabilities right away.” Deacon Fortkamp will be assisting Finn with the management of all four diocesan-owned cemeteries – St. Joseph, Resurrection, Holy Cross and Mt. Calvary. In addition to the diocesan cemeteries, about 50 cemeteries are operated by individual parishes, Deacon Fortkamp said.
Msgr. Joseph Hendricks of St. Brigid of Kildare Church is overseeing the financial viability of the cemeteries, and Father Kevin Kavanagh of Marysville Our Lady of Lourdes Church is a liturgical consultant for possible remodeling of chapels at other cemeteries. Bishop Brennan had asked the two priests to serve in these roles before he was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York last year.
Deacon Iannarino said the diocese currently has 115 deacons, with 11 candidates being trained in a class that is scheduled to complete formation and be ordained to the sacrament of holy orders as deacons in 2024.