Early Ordained Catholic Deacon With Cancer Said Last Year of His Life Was Best - Rest In Peace Steven Santoleri

Nice story on Permanent Deacon Steven Santoleri of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia who died last week.


“I’ve known him through his family,” Bishop Thomas said. “His mother was in my parish at Our Lady of the Assumption, Strafford. He was a man of faith with tremendous energy, a Type A personality. He embodied diaconal ministry. He was not just ordained a deacon; a deacon is what he was. He drew tremendous strength from the fraternity of the men he was in formation with.” 

 Msgr. Gregory Parlante, who knew Deacon Santoleri both in his capacity as associate to the Vicar for Clergy for the archdiocesan Department of Permanent Deacons and as pastor of St. Cornelius, was unable to attend the funeral because of his own illness. But Bishop Thomas relayed a comment from Msgr. Parlante, who said, “permanent deacons are ordained into Christ the Servant; I believe Steve was ordained into Christ the Suffering Servant.” “

Steve was so grateful to the archbishop for letting him be ordained a year early,” said Deacon James T. Owens, director of the Office for Permanent Deacons. “He described the past year as the best year of his life; had he been ordained this year he would have been too ill to minister.”