Why Laypeople and Deacons – in Addition to Priests – Are Necessary for a Thriving Catholic Church

A common example of hope in today’s Catholic Church is that of the dynamic, committed, holy priest.

The Church teaches its bishops are direct successors to Peter and the Twelve Apostles; through the sacrament of Holy Orders, a Catholic priest participates in his bishop’s apostolic ministry. Priests administer the sacraments in persona Christi, or acting in the person of Christ, when celebrating the Eucharist or hearing confessions.

And yet there is more than one group of people necessary to lead the Church through what has been dubbed “the new Apostolic Age” – a time when Christianity has become much like it was during the early Church, when the world wasn’t always receptive to its message of love, eternal life, absolute truth and sacrifice.

“To have the perspective through the lens of priests, deacons and lay leaders and to share the skills, gifts, talents and experiences each of them bring, I think, is the ONLY way you can have a really healthy Church,” said Bill Lentsch, chief operating officer for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and a member of The Saint Paul Seminary Seminary Board of Trustees.

Lentsch, a former top executive at Delta Air Lines, does so directly in his role with the archdiocese. But there are only so many jobs working for a diocese or parish.

The laity’s role as imitators of the apostles can often be more subtle – from how Catholics raise their children to how they interact with their coworkers to support they offer their pastor. A thriving Church, its leaders will tell you, requires servant leadership from its laypeople, its deacons and its priests, no matter their occupations.

It’s why the Church’s current synod on synodality was created to include both the clergy and the laity. Synod, coming from Greek, means “walking together.”

“The lay faithful’s principal job is in the world; it is the transformation of the temporal order,” Saint Paul Seminary Rector Father Joseph Taphorn said. “It’s to make the world a better reflection of the kingdom of God. And I think it takes all of these members of the Church – priests, deacons and lay leaders – working together in order to fulfill that vision.”

According to Taphorn, through the hierarchy of the Church, Jesus established a very real, practical channel for the deposit of faith to be given to all of mankind: the priesthood.

But priests don’t operate in a vacuum. Nor can they “do it all” themselves. A successful priest equips the laypeople under his care – whether at his parish, school, monastery or another institution.

“The laity have a view to the world,” Taphorn said. “They are the tip of the spear, you might say, in enlightening the world and the people they encounter in the workplace, how they are involved in politics, in government and medicine, in law. All of these are real, significant institutions, and the structures in our society are largely governed, run, served and animated by the laity.

“Those faithful that are sent out every Sunday after being nourished by the Eucharist are then moving into their communities, into families, into schools, into hospitals; these are the people that can really help bring the kingdom of God about.”

The Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church says priests are “not ordained by Christ to take upon themselves alone the entire salvific mission of the Church toward the world. On the contrary, they understand that it is their noble duty to shepherd the faithful and to recognize their ministries and charisms, so that all according to their proper roles may cooperate in this common undertaking with one mind.” (Lumen Gentium 30)

“I don’t refer to the Church as a business, but the Church is an organization that needs to run like a business,” Lentsch said. “It has business elements to it – finance, human resources, communication needs – there are a lot of those types of skills and those types of disciplines that have been perfected by members of the laity that the Church can be helped by.”

Outside of monetary support, here are three main ways for laypeople to contribute to a thriving Church:

PRAY: The first and most obvious action any Catholic, ordained or not, in bringing God to his people is to be in conversation and in relationship with him.

EVANGELIZE: This can be an intimidating word for the average Catholic. How do we engage nonbelievers in a conversation toward which they’re increasingly hostile? Sometimes, it doesn’t have to be a conversation at all. Set an example. Tell your own story of faith, with tact. Be authentic; even the staunchest of atheists might enjoy interacting with someone who is caring and real. Taphorn offers two main points of instruction: “build a connection” (i.e., a relationship through commonly enjoyed activities and dialogue) and “be not afraid” (when the time is right to speak the truth, do so boldly).

SERVE: As noted, not everyone can work for the Church. Given one’s state in life, even volunteering can be taxing on schedules and family dynamics. But there are ways to help. Lay men and women have a lot to offer their parishes and Catholic nonprofits besides their tithing dollars (while these remain crucial). Serving on boards or one’s parish council is a great way to contribute tangible ideas that allow the Church to operate well in a specific time and context.

“For the laity … the Church has given us such a beautiful gift, and God has given us our charisms and our talents,” said Lynn Wangen, a co-founder of The Saint Paul Seminary Institute for Ongoing Clergy Formation’s Shepherd’s Staff pastor mentoring program, which pairs experienced business leaders with parish priests. “It’s up to all of us to step forward and to help out as we can.”

Editor's note: A version of this story originally ran on The Seminaries of Saint Paul website. The Saint Paul Seminary is located at the University of St. Thomas.