Bishop John M. Smith of the Diocese of Trenton will commission 12 lay ecclesial ministers Dec. 14 in St. Mary Cathedral, Trenton.

 Hailing from Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties, the candidates have completed the requirements of the diocese's Institute for Lay Ecclesial Ministry, a rigorous three-year program of education, spiritual formation, pastoral skills development and practical experience. The commissioning qualifies the candidates for professional positions of leadership in the Church.

 The candidates are: Josue Arriola of St. Paul Parish, Princeton; Susan Commini of St. Gregory the Great Parish, Hamilton Square; Lynette De Tata of Holy Eucharist Parish, Tabernacle; Kathleen Egan-Bittner of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River; Karen Fitzgerald of St. James Parish, Red Bank; Helen Ann Graziano of St. John Neumann Parish, Mount Laurel; Laura Madlyn Harrison of St. James Parish, Red Bank; Theresa Kelly of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Lakewood; Linda C. Lane of Our Lady of Sorrows-St. Anthony Parish, Mercerville; Lillian Maldonado-Cilento of St. Justin Parish, Toms River; Anne E. Matthews of St. Martha Parish, Point Pleasant, and Madelyn Tusay of St. James Parish, Pennington.

 Eight of the 12 candidates have completed or are close to completing their master's degree in theology from either Georgian Court University, Lakewood, or LaSalle University, Philadelphia. The others have completed pastoral certificate programs from Georgian Court University in connection with their ILEM formation. Most are married with grown children, and some already hold full-time positions in Church ministry. Others are employed outside the Church in such fields as business, health care and law, but exercise their ministry on a volunteer basis.

 This is the diocese's fifth ILEM commissioning, bringing the number of lay ecclesial ministers commissioned through the diocesan program to 96. Lay ecclesial ministers can serve in a wide range of capacities with the Church, among them director or coordinator of parish religious education programs, pastoral assistants, music ministers, liturgists, spiritual directors, youth ministers, campus ministers, pastoral counselors, bereavement ministers, adult faith formation leaders, spiritual directors, annulment advocates, parish business managers or administrators, and Catholic school educators. Of the 84 lay ecclesial ministers formerly commissioned in the diocese, 53 hold full-time, paid positions in their ministry; and six have part-time positions. Another 24 conduct their ministries as volunteers, some while holding full-time positions outside the Church.

Lay ecclesial ministry is the generic term for a variety of positions held by non-ordained people who engage in substantial public leadership positions in Church ministry. This form of Church leadership took shape following the Second Vatican Council, which emphasized the layperson's Baptismal call to be an apostle and evangelizer. In the last 10 years, the role of lay ecclesial ministry has been expanded as new and more collaborative models of Church leadership have emerged.

Established in 1881, the Diocese of Trenton comprises Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties with a Catholic population of 830,000. The diocese has 160 priests, 310 permanent deacons, and 439 religious men and women serving in 113 parishes, 48 Catholic elementary schools and 11 high schools.

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Coverage notes:

Please consider featuring your local candidates and exploring this growing trend in the Catholic Church. A list of those candidates who can be contacted directly is provided. Headshots are available upon request by contacting Rayanne Bennett, Office of Communications and Public Relations, (609) 406-7400, ext. 5569, or by
e-mail: rbenne@dioceseoftrenton.org.

Coverage of the Commissioning by reporters, photographers and television crews is welcome. Photography and filming are permitted inside the Cathedral during Mass, though we ask that photographers do not stand in the space between the sanctuary and the congregation, and that they honor the privacy of individuals receiving the sacrament of Communion.

The Prelude and Procession begin at 3:25 p.m.