Deacon Sean A. Caveny, MAPT, has been appointed to assist Fr. Thomas Hagstrom, V.F. with the parishes of St. Michael’s, Staunton, Sacred Heart, Livingston and St. John Paul II in Mt. Olive by Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois.
Deacon Caveny was ordained in June of 2012. He graduated from Bunker Hill High School and went on to Blackburn College where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Music (Management) in 1992. He went on to receive his Master of Arts in Community Arts Management from the University of Illinois-Springfield and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology of Indiana in 2016.
Deacon Caveny is the son of Billie and the late Charles Caveny. He is a member of Utility Workers Local 640, Alton with the American Water Customer Service Division and resides in Gillespie.
According to the Diocese of Springfield website (dio.org):
“The word deacon in Greek means servant. Vatican Council II explained that deacons serve the Church by being ‘dedicated to the People of God in the ministry of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity.’ (Lumen gentium, 29). A deacon serves the Church in the name of Jesus Christ as an ordained minister. Like bishops and priests, the deacon shares the Sacrament of Holy Orders. While the diaconate existed throughout the history of the Church, gradually most deacons were on their way to the priesthood (transitional deacons). Vatican Council II called for the restoration of the diaconate as a permanent ministry in the Church.”