Deacon Ordination: Deacon D. Lang, Deacon M. Macchiarola, Deacon J. Ohe, Deacon J. Rego

Deacon David Lang

“I served as an altar boy growing up through high school,” said Deacon David Lang, a resident of Somerville and lifelong member of the town’s Immaculate Conception Parish. “My greatest encounters with our Lord always have been while serving on the altar.”

Born in 1965 as one of five children to the late Gilman and Marian Lang, the altar boy attended the parish’s Immaculate Conception Elementary and Immaculata High Schools before earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of Scranton.

He completed studies for the diaconate in Seton Hall University, South Orange, earning a master’s degree in Systemic Theology. He has worked for nearly 40 years at the Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, most recently as associate vice president and laboratory manager.

Newly ordained Deacon Lang has served the parish as lector, cantor, Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, a member of the parish council and on parish fund raising committees. He and his wife, Heather, created the JPII Cultural Arts Ministry.

Deacon Lang brings his management experience to the Heritage Trail, where he is a former member of the board. He is also founder and artistic director of the Middlebrook Theatrical Society, a group dedicated to historic education through artistic engagement; presenter for the League of N.J. Historical Societies, and vocalist with the N.J. State Opera and the New York Grand Opera Company.

The deacon also fulfills the duties of Official Town Crier for the Borough of Somerville.

Deacon Lang is looking forward to a new role at the parish, near the very altar he served as acolyte so long ago. He stated, “The opportunity to serve as an ordained deacon is an opportunity to encounter Christ in new and deeper ways.”

By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor

 

 

Deacon Michael Macchiarola

The seeds of Deacon Michael Macchiarola’s journey of the diaconate were planted two generations ago, he asserted.

“I come from a family with a working-class background that placed a high value on serving others,” he said, naming his two grandfathers (both of whom served in the military, then went on to blue-collar careers.) Born in Staten Island in 1970 to Robert and Cecelia Macchiarola, the youngster spent many weekends with his grandparents tending to their garden and attending Mass where his grandfather served as lector.

Deacon Macchiarola graduated from St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in international business and trade and an associate’s degree in business management, and later, a master of art’s degree in systematic theology from Seton Hall. Deacon Macchiarola has a distinguished career as an equity professional for companies like Bloomberg LP, R.W. Baird, and Simplicity Holdings.

Among those who nurtured the seeds of faith, Deacon Macchiarola credits his grandfather, Michael; Father Edward Heavey, a Jesuit priest he met while at St. Peter’s College, and Father Edmund Luciano, with whom he worked while discerning the diaconate. “Father Edmund was our parochial vicar at St. Bernard of Clairvaux [Parish, Bridgewater] and has been a great source of support and guidance,” he said.

The new deacon also credits his wife of nearly 30 years, Christine, with whom he has three children, and his sister, Maria Carlucci, for their support. “Deacon Patrick Cline, Deacon Gerry Simms, Msgr. Joe Celano, and Msgr. Randy Vashon (his pastor and vesting priest) have been my cornerstone over the past five years. Their unwavering support has given me the strength, courage, and persistence to fully embrace God’s graces, and I am forever grateful for their love and guidance,” he said.

Deacon Macchiarola shared his plans about continuing the legacy of faith with a new generation of faithful. He said, “I would like my ministry to focus on being present in all that I do and one that builds bridges between the clergy and laity.”

By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor

 

 

Deacon James Ohe

It took a brush with death to point the way to service for Deacon James Ohe.

“Fourteen years ago, I was in a car accident that almost took my life,” recalled Deacon Ohe, a communicant of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, South Bound Brook. “I thought about what I could do to make my life meaningful. I wanted to do something to make me and others happy.”

Born in 1960 in Seoul, Korea, Deacon Ohe attended elementary school there, then high school in Port Richmond, N.Y. He earned food handler certificates and spent the next four decades owning and/or managing delicatessen/grocery stores in Queens, N.Y., Tewksbury and New Brunswick. He and his wife, Teresa, have two children.

Post-surgery, fellow parishioner Deacon Ignatius Youn invited him to consider the diaconate, but the challenges of working in the deli full-time and rigorous diaconate studies tabled the choice. Deacon Ohe accelerated his retirement savings just in time to qualify to begin his studies before age 60, the program’s cutoff age. “It was all in God’s plan,” he said with a smile. “I was right on time.”

Deacon Ohe has served the Korean Catholic Community of the Diocese as director of vocations at Woodbridge’s Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, and as director and coordinator of liturgy at Transfiguration Parish, Edison.

Additionally, he visits the sick of his parish and volunteers at the Unity Square food pantry, New Brunswick, under the aegis of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen. Deacon Ohe has chosen Father John Lee, Our Lady of Mercy parish administrator, as his vesting priest.

By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor

 

 

Deacon Jesus Rego

Deacon Jesús Rego has discovered that God’s call to diaconal service may be postponed, but the creator’s love cannot be denied.

The member of St. Ann Parish, Raritan, revealed, “I first felt a strong attraction to the diaconate some 23-24 years ago but, with two kids in diapers and a busy family life, I discerned it was not the time and did not pursue it. Mercifully, God kept calling and, happily, the Church discerned both the validity and the timing of the call and, by the mercy of God, here I am.”

Rego was born in La Coruña, Spain, in 1958, one of three children of the late German and Carmen Rego. Upon completion of elementary and high schools in his native country, he continued his education in the United States, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in computer science from Marist College. Over the course of his career, he has worked at a number of companies as an engineer and in system analysis and database management, most recently for UBS Investment Bank as director, service and product management IT security.

Deacon Rego chose his pastor, Father Thomas Odorizzi, as his vesting priest. His service to his Raritan parish includes work as lector and Eucharistic minister, as well as bringing the Eucharist to the homebound and sick; he also serves as a volunteer chaplain at St. Peter’s University Hospital. He and his wife, Patricia, have four children.

The new deacon has a request for his fellow followers of Christ: prayer. He said, “I would like to ask the prayers of the faithful – pray that I may love and serve the people of God with the heart of Jesus and persevere in that service.”

By Christina Leslie, Contributing Editor