In this file photo, Dcn. Tim Nugent proclaims the Gospel during a Nov. 21, 2021 Mass in the presence of relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina at St. Anthony Parish in Browns Valley, Ky. ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD | WKC
In new role, Dcn. Tim Nugent looks forward to serving the servants of the Church
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
Permanent deacons are “servants of the Church – called to serve the Church,” according to Dcn. Tim Nugent, the new director of the permanent diaconate program for the Diocese of Owensboro.
“I just love walking with people as they journey through their lives of faith (in the) joys and the struggles,” said Dcn. Nugent of the permanent diaconate, to which he was ordained 12 years ago. He was made diocesan director of the permanent diaconate effective Dec. 2, 2024.
Dcn. Nugent previously served as the coordinator of academic formation for the deacon candidates studying at Brescia University, and so has worked closely with Fr. Ken Mikulcik, director of formation for the diaconate, for the past five years.
He is also currently working on his doctorate, and said his study was focused on ongoing formation needs for permanent deacons. In his new role, he looks forward to not only working with deacon candidates but assisting with ongoing formation for the approximately 50 deacons in the diocese.
Dcn. Nugent explained that the vocation of a permanent deacon – which is different from the transitional diaconate, to which a man is ordained as a step toward the priesthood – is dedicated to preaching and teaching. He said deacons are assigned to parishes for the most part.
“We are very regularly assigned to sacramental prep, religious education, and adult faith formation,” he said. Dcn. Nugent himself is assigned to St. Anthony Parish in Browns Valley, Ky., and will continue to serve the parish in that capacity in addition to his new role with the diocese.
He said the program has a cohort of men currently discerning the permanent diaconate, and that the program is actively interviewing men for the next cohort.
“That’s something I’m already looking forward to,” he said.
To learn more about the permanent diaconate, visit owensborodiocese.org/permanent-diaconate.
Originally printed in the January 2025 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
