After years of prayerful discernment and study and with the loving support of their families, Philip Pham and Robert Tonkli were ordained by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP in St Mary’s Cathedral on 19 November.
Deacon Pham, 65, and Deacon Tonkli, 54, are the first permanent deacons to be ordained for the Archdiocese of Sydney since 2020.
Joining them for the occasion were their family, friends, colleagues, parishioners of Fairfield, North Ryde, and Berala, Bishops Richard Umbers and Daniel Meagher, and many priests and deacons from Sydney and beyond, while more watched via a livestream.
Archbishop Fisher acknowledged those who had helped the two men discern and prepare for their vocation, including Fr Simon Kitimbo and Deacon Aisavali Salu who lead the Office of the Permanent Diaconate and the president of the Catholic Institute of Sydney Professor Hayden Ramsay and staff.
“Diakonia, or sacred service, does not go looking for a market rate of return on investment; the eye of Christian service is on the far horizon of building God’s kingdom, his communion of saints, rather than self-interest,” the archbishop said in his homily.
“Your service will be in the economy of grace, where success is measured by humble charity, in assisting the bishop and priests in dispensing the Sacrament and words of goodness; in holding fast to the mystery of faith, proclaiming it in word and deed; in maintaining a spirit of prayer and conforming yourself to the example of Christ whose body and blood you will minister.”
Speaking at the end of Mass on behalf of both new deacons, Deacon Tonkli thanked the archbishop and all involved in their formation, Deacon Pham’s wife Theresa and their five adult children, and his own wife Maryanne and son Matthew.
The diaconate was a call “that God has placed in our hearts, a call to be united more closely to Christ in his servant mysteries, in the service of the church and those in need,” said.
“Above all, Philip and I give thanks and praise to Christ our Lord. It is only by God’s grace that we, in spite of our weaknesses and sinfulness, can be made servants of his Gospel.
“Please pray for us, that we might bear abundant fruit that will last.”
Unlike transitional deacons who are preparing for ordination to the priesthood, permanent deacons may be married, with children and a secular occupation, following the 1964 renewal at the Second Vatican Council of the ancient order of the permanent diaconate.
Deacon Pham is lawyer in the Fairfield area with several degrees, and came to Australia as a 21-year-old refugee from Vietnam.
Deacon Tonkli is the chief of staff at the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association, one of Australia’s largest trade unions, and has worked with the SDA in various roles for more than 20 years.
For more information about the permanent diaconate: www.sydneydiaconate.org.au.