Deacon Patrick Tifu: First Year of Ministry

Thursday 23rd April 2026

This summer will mark one year since the ordination of Deacon Patrick Tifu, the youngest of our permanent diaconate and the latest to be ordained. We were privileged recently to speak with Patrick about his time as a permanent deacon, the interesting life path which led him to his ministry, and the ways in which his family continue to support his journey.

Journey to the Diaconate

For Patrick, the path to ministry has not always been clear. He first sought a vocation in 1998, when at the age of 18 he entered into formation to become a missionary priest and completed six years of training before deciding to take a different course. He left the idea of priesthood behind and endeavoured “just to be very ordinary…to go for Mass and try to get back to normal life again” – whilst never leaving the church, Patrick pursued a career in nursing, got married and started a family.

Patrick described that throughout this 20 year journey to ministry, he was asked many times to consider becoming a permanent deacon, but for all that time he kept saying no – that was not what he felt called to do. It was not until he moved with his family to the cathedral parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Joseph in Salford that he began to consider and to pray again on the question of ministry, as he was once more propositioned for the task, this time by Canon Michael Jones.

With the continuing support of his wife and family, alongside prayer and discernment, Patrick finally took the first step back towards a ministerial vocation and began the four year formation training to become a permanent deacon.

Considering the journey taken over the past two decades, he said: “The person I am today with all the experience behind me has given me what I needed to go into His vineyard, to say yes to Him and start doing the work that He wants me to do.”

With respect to his initial formation training for the priesthood, Patrick reflected that he was not ready to serve the church at that time – ultimately, it was not the way in which he felt called. Rather, he understands now that God had decided a different path for him, one which quietly took shape in the background of day-to-day life. “He held me in His hands like a skilled potter – He moulded me into what I am today.”

Patrick’s Prayer of Formation

Since joining the diaconate programme and beginning formation, Patrick admitted: “I have never been busier.”

He described the difficulty of balancing the responsibilities of work and family life with those of training, and notes that the first year of formation was particularly challenging. “It involved constant travelling,” he recalled, with regular trips to Liverpool and to Leeds alongside private study and assignments. “You just never stopped doing something to do with formation – it was so busy.”

During this period, Patrick was also travelling regularly to the Isle of Man for work and driving his son to football training in Blackburn several times a week. Recollecting all this with a smile, he concluded: “I learned to manage my time very well during this process.”

The sense of gratitude and fulfilment Patrick feels in the path taken to his ordination is clear. As he discussed the experience of each stage of his journey, he shared this section of a prayer he wrote following a five day retreat required for formation:

“The journey with you through the years has been, and continues to be, action-packed with your grace,
through these years of journeying with you – of formation, of searching,
and challenge and prayer and pleading,
no single experience has been wasted.
They have all built, rebuilt, moulded, reshaped me to the me that is here:
a work-in-progress, a product of your care and love,
and I’m humbled that you have invested so much in me.”

“A way of life” – Reflections on Ministry

Asked to describe his time as permanent deacon so far in three words, Patrick was inspired by a passage from the Book of Revelation, in which all creatures offer their praise to Christ:

“And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honour and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”” Revelation 5:13

Blessing

“I felt that the grace and blessings of God were upon me and my family, and all the people that supported me… My journey since ordination has been shaped by trying to be a blessing to others as well.”

Honour

“Sometimes I felt undeserved of all the blessing and graces of God; I’m really humbled by that feeling. I am honoured to be chosen for this mission – to be God’s hands, His feet and His body on earth.

Glory

“That’s not to say that ordination brings glory to me, no – to God be the glory, that’s what this is all about. It is my prayer that I can use all the gifts I receive for His greater glory.”

By profession, Deacon Patrick works as a nurse in community mental health, however since ordination, he has found ministry to be all-encompassing. He said: “The diaconate is a way of life. It’s not something you can compartmentalise – I am a deacon in the family, at work, and in the ministry.”

He observed that in both capacities, as nurse and as deacon, he is “offering service to [his] brothers and sisters.”

“The diaconate is not just something I do a few hours a day, it is something I do every hour of every single day.”

Thinking back to the day of his ordination, he recalled a remarkable experience whilst lying prostrate during the singing of the Litany of Saints: “I felt something I had never felt before – I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit… He was there on that day.”

Speaking fondly of the day itself, he said: “The occasion was so spirit-filled and so graceful.”

Support and Inspiration in Ministry

As a husband and a father to four children, Deacon Patrick has much in the way of familial support, for which he expresses a deep gratitude. He said: “They have made enormous sacrifices to let me serve the church in this way. I can’t thank them enough for continuing to journey with me.”

“I am the deacon I am today because of them.”

He also described the support and brotherhood he has found within the diaconate. He said: “There is a great camaraderie between us, and as the youngest deacon, I have much to learn from them.”

He recalled feeling nervous to perform a baptism for the first time, seeking reassurance and advice from his fellow deacons: “One of them actually offered me the notes from his first baptism, and that came in really handy.”

“There’s a great sense of unity, and of sharing experiences, and I have really benefitted from that.”

Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

Considering what might lie ahead for the permanent diaconate in our diocese, Deacon Patrick said: “The future is bright.” He reminded us that God has a plan to shape the diaconate, a plan which each of the permanent deacons are inspired to follow as it is revealed by the Holy Spirit. Though we cannot truly know His vision for the diaconate, Deacon Patrick assures us: “The Lord will provide.”

As for the future of his own vocation, Deacon Patrick looks forward to beginning a new post as prison chaplain in May, following guidance and support from Bishop John. He said: “I’m looking forward to working with the young people there; I think I’m well placed to do some prison chaplaincy.”

To those considering a vocation to the permanent diaconate, Patrick said: “It took me 20 years, but it doesn’t have to take everybody else that long. Take the plunge and talk to somebody – ask the question sooner rather than later.”

“It’s been a tremendous privilege to be part of this group of people serving God in this way. I encourage anyone thinking about it to start their journey.”

 

To find out more about the work of our permanent deacons, please visit our Vocations page, stay tuned on the News section of our website, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.