Dcn DeLuca

Peace and Joy to you and your household! 

Bishop Erik Pohlmeier has recently assigned me to serve the community of St. Joseph’s as one of your deacons effective August 1, 2025. My primary duty will be as chaplain to St. Joseph Catholic School.
 
I was born and raised in the Archdiocese of Boston. After graduating from high school in 1968, I attended St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH and was awarded a B.A. in Religious Studies with a focus on Sacred Scripture. I later pursued a master’s degree in Pastoral Ministry with a specialization in Pastoral Counseling at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
 
My wife Betty Tebbetts DeLuca and I recently celebrated our 50^th wedding anniversary. We have two daughters and four grandchildren who live in Jacksonville, FL.
 
My professional background and experience include teaching and serving in leadership positions on the parish, high school, college, and diocesan levels in the Dioceses of Albany, NY, Manchester, NH, and St. Augustine, FL. I enjoyed putting my knowledge and background in catechesis to use working in the field of Catholic publishing serving as a catechetical consultant for Benziger Company, Loyola University Press, and Silver Burdett Ginn Religion Division.
 
In July 1999, Msgr. Michael R. Houle recruited me to serve on the administration of Bishop Kenny High School as the Director of Campus Ministry and Religious Education; A position I held for twenty-four years until retirement in July 2023. Additionally, I served as a member of the faculty of the DOSA Ministry Formation Team until 2014.
 
Bishop Victor Galeone ordained me a permanent deacon in the inaugural class of deacons on June 3, 2006, here at St. Joseph’s Church. Throughout my 20 years of service as an ordained deacon I have exercised diaconal ministry at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Jacksonville, FL and St Luke Catholic Church, Middleburg, FL.
 
I am grateful to our pastor, Fr. David Ruchinski, for welcoming me to exercise diaconal ministry as a member of the team. I am looking forward to serving the St. Joseph Community.