Deacon Bill Kruger celebrates his 50th anniversary as a deacon

By Mary Lim

Deacon Bill Kruger was ordained a permanent deacon of the Catholic Church in Chicago at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary, on December 10, 1972. This past weekend, he celebrated fifty years as a deacon!

Dcn. Kruger was among the first deacons to be ordained to the permanent order of the diaconate in the United States. He went to the University of St. Mary of the Lake Mundelein Seminary to study for this part of his vocation with twelve other men who were to graduate in his cohort and be part of the biggest ordination of deacons still to date, with 199 deacons being ordained in Chicago at once. He is one of six deacons from his original class still remaining.

Dcn. Kruger is originally from Chicago, Illinois. He moved to Tucson in 1976 with his wife Patricia, “Pat”. Dcn. Kruger and Pat have been married for 71 years and they have six children – three girls and three boys.

Dcn. Kruger’s discernment of his vocation in the diaconate was short and sure. Rome restored the diaconate post-Vatican II in 1968. The Vatican recognized that there was a need for deacons in the Church in 1965 and three years later, the first order of deacons was ordained. Dioceses all across the United States were quickly spreading the news of this new permanent order, and it was not long before Dcn. Kruger’s home diocese in Chicago was preparing to send men for formation to serve as deacons for their own community. Dcn. Kruger was already very active at his parish at St. Francis, and he just happened to be out with two of his priest friends at a Notre Dame football game when interviews were being held for the diaconate program for Chicago. When he returned home from the game, with the consent of his wife, Pat, he signed up to be a candidate for the diaconate program to serve God’s children as a deacon.

After his ordination, Dcn. Kruger quit his union job and served as a deacon at his home parish of St. Francis for four years. He then moved to Tucson to seve as a deacon at St. Joseph Parish, where he stayed for five years. In 1981, Dcn. Kruger and his family moved back to Chicago, and Dcn. Kruger went back to serving at St. Francis Parish as a Director of Religious Education (DRE) and deacon for fifteen more years. He and Patricia decided to move back to Tucson in 1996, and Dcn. Kruger served as a deacon and as the staff manager of buildings at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish for the next fifteen years. In 2011, Dcn. Kruger continued his service as a permanent deacon at Santa Catalina Parish, which is still today his home parish.

Throughout his life, Dcn. Kruger lived his vocation serving at parishes, but also through his ministry at retirement homes and private homes; through counseling families, teens, and widows; by filling in for priests doing the common services for Mass; by serving as a chaplain at Oro Valley Hospital; and by celebrating weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

Dcn. Kruger says that his favorite part about being a deacon in the Catholic Church is the people – God’s family. He prays for the Diocese of Tucson Catholic community all the time, and he asks that community members remember him and all other deacons in their own prayers as well.

“In 1976, I resigned from my job at the company where I worked as a Union Business President, and I went to work for the Lord” says Dcn. Kruger, “I have been working for the Lord for 50 years, and I will continue to do what the Lord lets me do. The journey has been good.”

Dcn. Kruger celebrated his 50th anniversary as a permanent deacon of the Catholic Church with a service and celebration on December 3rd at the apartments he and his wife live and serve in, and with an additional Mass and celebration at his home parish at Santa Catalina on December 10th. Nowadays, Dcn. Kruger can be found serving in his role as a deacon at his senior apartment complex co-celebrating communion services for residents on Tuesdays.



Please pray for Dcn. Kruger on this his 50th anniversary as a deacon, for his wife, Pat, for their vocation, for the gift of their services to the Church for the past fifty years, and for their family. Congratulations, Dcn. Kruger!

 

If you are discerning the diaconate or are interested in learning more about formation, you can contact the Director of Deacons, Deacon Rick Valencia at       (520) 838-2543 or valencia@diocesetucson.org