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Like Christ's apostles, they number 12. The dozen members of the 17th class of the archdiocesan permanent diaconate formation program, who will be ordained June 12 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, look forward to their ordination as an opportunity to witness and serve in the tradition of the early church fathers.

"There's a very high level of service in the group and a real humility across the board," declared Sister of Social Service Chris Machado, associate director of diaconate formation. "As a group, the deacon candidates have a strong call to service which is well integrated with their spirituality."

Besides serving in a variety of liturgical ministries, the 11 married deacon candidates and one single candidate from four archdiocesan pastoral regions participate in a number of service programs including adult education, AIDS hospice, bereavement ministry, detention ministry, ecumenical/interfaith outreach, elderly ministry, Engaged Encounter, Habitat for Humanity, healthcare ministry, homeless outreach, justice and peace projects, Marriage Encounter, and Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteer work.

The deacons in this year's "St. Andrew Group," including the 11 wives, have attended eight-hour formation classes every other Saturday for four years. According to Deacon Bob Fargo, 52, the wives' willingness to participate in the formation process, which included reading books, writing papers and learning how to give homilies among other assignments, was "incredible."

"The fact that this formation process includes the wives makes the diaconate formation process in Los Angeles a model for the rest of the country," said Deacon Fargo. Deacon Ray Lim, 60, and his wife, Theresa, both physicians, often read their assignments in their native Korean language as well as English to complete their course work.

"I think that we learned a great deal about ourselves and each other," said Deacon Lim. "We both grew spiritually together. Sometimes she had better test scores than me!"

While acknowledging the formation process as "a time of hard work," Deacon Lim said it was also "a time of tremendous graces and blessings." He said he was grateful to have had strong support, encouragement and cooperation from his family and parish. "I am truly blessed," he declared.

Deacon Eric Stoltz, 44, the single member of the group who attends St. Brendan Church in Los Angeles, said the formation process has given him a new family. "We have become a community intensely connected at many levels of ministry, faith and witness," he said. "We have shared the joy and hope, the grief and anxiety of all the modern world together. Along the way, we have learned about diverse aspects of parish ministry, shared stories, given and received advice and experienced a community wisdom that has changed each of us forever."

The new deacons include: Deacon Richard and Darlene Boucher of St. Cornelius Church in Long Beach; Deacon Armando and Irene Estrada of St. Stephen Church in Monterey Park; Deacon Robert and Penny Fargo of Blessed Junipero Serra Church in Camarillo; Deacon Roger and Mary Ellen Faubert of Our Lady of Refuge Church in Long Beach; Deacon Roberto and Maria Hernandez of Holy Spirit Church in Los Angeles; and Deacon Douglas and Dolores Jones of Our Lady of Peace Church in North Hills.

Also: Deacon Raymond and Theresa Lim of St. James the Less Church in La Crescenta; Deacon Edward and Kathleen Littleton of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Church in Santa Clarita; Deacon Charles and Cynthia Mitchell of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Altadena; Deacon Luis and Laura Mora Sahagun of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Los Angeles; Deacon Eric Stolz of St. Brendan Church in Los Angeles; and Deacon Vincent and Susan Tomkovicz of St. Jude Church in Westlake Village.