The Deacon

Recent years have seen a revival of Scripture study among Catholics. One of the apostolates behind this sea change has been the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology. Located in Steubenville, Ohio, this thriving nonprofit has spent the last 20 years teaching Catholics to read sacred Scripture from the heart of the Church. Inspired by the vision of its founders, Scott and Kimberly Hahn, the center maintains that biblical literacy for Catholic laity — and biblical fluency for clergy — should be the norm, not the exception.

When you ask the folks at the St. Paul Center what this looks like in practice, they’ll tell you it’s about helping Catholics understand the dynamic unity of the Bible as the inspired word of God. As Catholics, we’re called to read the Old and New Testaments alongside one another, recognizing that both are parts of the same story of salvation history. Reading Scripture from the heart of the Church means approaching the sacred page “like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old” (Mt 13:52).

Visitors to the St. Paul Center’s new building will immediately notice a large painting adorning one of the walls. It’s the scene of Christ accompanying the disciples on the road to Emmaus. For the staff at the center, it’s a daily reminder that the inspired word of God should always be interpreted in light of the incarnate Word: “Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” (Lk 24:32). St. Jerome famously observed that “ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” It follows that Catholics ought to know the Bible better than anyone, because Catholics ought to know Christ better than anyone.

Forming Teachers

One of the key ways the St. Paul Center advances its mission is by serving as a “teacher of teachers” — equipping the Church’s ordained ministers with the formation and resources they need to become effective preachers of the word. It’s a mission that encompasses not only priests but also permanent deacons. To be sure, “works of charity and assistance” remain “the ministry most characteristic of the deacon”; at the same time, we know that “the deacon is called to proclaim the Scriptures and instruct and exhort the people” (Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons, No. 9). For this reason, Pope St. Paul VI, in his 1967 document Sacrum Diaconatus Ordinem, exhorted permanent deacons to “devote themselves assiduously to reading and meditating on the word of God” (No. 26).

As an apostolate dedicated to Catholic biblical theology, the St. Paul Center wants to help deacons respond to their unique calling. To that end, the center held its first Deacons Conference in Steubenville in November 2024. The event was sold out, with 50 deacons from 20 different dioceses attending. On the back of this success, the second annual conference will take place in Steubenville this fall.

The St. Paul Center’s outreach also extends to its two publishing arms: Emmaus Road Publishing and Emmaus Academic, which together produce 30 to 40 titles each year. Recent titles include Megan Hjelmstad’s “Offer It Up: Discovering the Power and Purpose of Redemptive Suffering” and John Bergsma’s “Jesus and the Jubilee: The Biblical Roots of the Year of God’s Favor.” Priests and deacons should also be aware of Bergsma’s groundbreaking, four-part Word of the Lord series, providing detailed commentary on the Mass readings for every Sunday and solemnity across all three cycles of the Church’s liturgical year. Many preachers report finding this to be an invaluable tool for helping with homily preparation, as well as personal devotion.

More recently, the St. Paul Center has expanded its digital offerings with the launching of an all-access membership. The membership provides entry to a vast library of biblical and theological content, including more than 20 video courses, as well as weekly reflections on the Sunday Mass readings. The video course offerings include “Evangelizing with Scripture” with Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers; “The Evangelists” and “The Psalms: God’s Book of Prayers” with John Bergsma; and “Introduction to St. Paul,” a nine-part series with Scott Hahn. In addition, membership also covers the center’s flagship “Journey Through Scripture” studies, which are ideal for parish group studies.

The Example of the First Martyr

Every deacon knows that his vocation is one defined by service. In a profound way, the deacon shares in the mission of the One who “did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt 20:28). In the Acts of the Apostles, St. Stephen exemplifies this spirit of service through his attentiveness to the material needs of the Church’s most vulnerable members (see Acts 6:1-6). And yet, when Stephen is hauled before the authorities, he shows himself to be exceptionally well prepared to unpack the long arc of the Scriptures and to articulate their fulfillment in Christ (see Acts 7). For Stephen, there is no competition between the corporal works of mercy and a rigorous formation in the Scriptures: Both are essential dimensions in his service to the Mystical Body.

As a teacher of teachers, the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology wants to help permanent deacons follow in Stephen’s footsteps. Through its conferences, books and digital library, the center seeks to provide deacons with the biblical training that will allow them to “gain good standing and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus” (1 Tm 3:13). Above all, the center wishes to support deacons in discovering a personal encounter with Jesus Christ in the Scriptures. For as more and more people in our culture turn to the Bible for inspiration and guidance, permanent deacons have no small part to play in helping the faithful to arrive at a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, the word of God.

CLEMENT HARROLD, a longtime contributor and partner of the St. Paul Center of Bible Theology, earned his master’s degree in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 2024 and his bachelor’s from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2021. His writings have appeared in First Things, Church Life Journal and Crisis Magazine.