Bishop John Dolan celebrated the ordination to the transitional deaconate of Dcn. Lawrence Hogue, F.H.S., on Saturday (May 16) at St. Anthony Catholic Mission Church in Sacaton, Ariz.
“I really feel like the Lord has called me here to serve this beautiful community.” Dcn. Lawrence said. As a Franciscan Friar of the Holy Spirit, he is entrusted with the pastoral and spiritual care of the Native American communities in the Diocese of Pheonix, on which he has already made a positive impact.
Bishop Dolan said Dcn. Lawrence has “the greatest gift that he is going to create”, which is joy.
“I think he’s probably one of the best examples of what, when a deacon says at the end of Mass, ‘go and announce the Gospel with your lives,’” Bishop Dolan continued.
After struggling for a time to let go of their son due to living in Pennsylvania, Dcn. Lawrence’s parents, Steve and Monica Hogue, are happy that he is called to serve the people of Arizona.
“There is nowhere else in the world that he should be other than here, and we freely give him to these people and his calling,” Steve said.
Through Dcn. Lawrence and the formation he has received, his parents have grown in their own spiritual lives over the past several years.
“He’s been formed, but through him we’ve been formed,” Monica said.
Br. Damien Van Amerongen has been a Franciscan seminarian with Dcn. Lawrence for over four years and was happy to enjoy the moment of ordination with his fellow brothers.
“As Franciscans we share all things in common, so we get to share this ordination in a special way just through grace,” Br. Damien said.
Br. Damien is looking forward to seeing Dcn. Lawrence’s joy pour over into the sacraments he will be able to celebrate. “I’m really excited to see him baptize some babies.”
On Saturday morning, after becoming a transitional deacon, Dcn. Lawrence can now serve the people in additional ways, such as administering baptisms and presiding over weddings and funerals. As a deacon, he can also prepare the chalice for the Blood of Christ at the Mass, a tradition which dates back to St. Lawrence himself, who was born in AD 225.
However, the excitement for Dcn. Lawrence extends beyond his new role, as he looks forward to his ordination to the priesthood in 2027.
He had first heard the call to the priesthood when he procrastinated doing his math homework and decided to pray instead. “I felt like the Lord said to me, I need to be a priest,” Dcn. Lawrence said.
His parents described how growing up they never knew what his vocation would be, but they did have moments of insight.
“He had a towel wrapped around him, and I thought he was going to say he looks like a king,” Monica said. “But I said, ‘who are you dressed up as?’ He said, ‘a priest.’”
Bishop Dolan says as a deacon, Dcn. Lawrence will be a blessing and his radiating joy “is probably the great gift that we can celebrate here in our diocese, what we can celebrate with this community, his brothers in the community, but also here in the Gila River zone of Arizona.”
