Commitment to Jesus' greatest commandment leads Deacon Frank Titus to diaconate

Several years ago, Deacon Frank Titus committed himself to the greatest commandment as given by Jesus: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” This led to a reordering of his life and the start of his journey to living a more committed life to the church as a permanent deacon. 

Bishop Michael G. Duca ordained Deacon Titus to the diaconate on May 25 at St. Joseph Cathedral. 

Deacon Titus began his journey from the Methodist Church to the Catholic Church after he married Maria, a cradle Catholic, 31 years ago. After their two daughters, Emily, 25, and Julia, 23, were born, they attended Mass together as a family at St Patrick Church in Baton Rouge, and Deacon Titus entered the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults Program. 

“It made sense for me to go through RCIA. I liked RCIA and the Catholic faith made a lot of sense to me. I felt comfortable with it,” said Deacon Titus. 

After entering the church Deacon Titus became more involved in St. Patrick’s various ministries. 

“If there was a need in the bulletin, I volunteered for it, and everything grew from there,” he said. 

 That is when he received the greatest commandment from Jesus, and he entered the diaconate program. 

Because the diaconate program involves rigorous formation in human, intellectual, spiritual, and pastoral dimensions, Deacon Titus made adjustments to balance family life, work (as a professional engineer at Waggoner Engineering), and school. But he thoroughly enjoyed the classroom setting and felt the formation made him a stronger Catholic. 

Throughout the diaconate process, Deacon Titus has been supported by his family, in which everyone lives busy lives: Maria is a registered dietician at Baton Rouge General (Mid City); Emily is in graduate school at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans; and Julia, who graduated from LSU, works for HTB Accounting Service in Baton Rouge. 

Through his volunteer work and diaconate formation assignments, Deacon Titus has learned how to serve in parish settings, including St. Patrick, Immaculate Conception Church in Denham Springs, and Our Lady of Mercy Church in Baton Rouge. 

“It has been great seeing how all these parishes operate. No matter where I was, I always felt at home,” said Deacon Titus. 

He will begin his assignment as deacon assistant on June 1 at St. John the Evangelist Church in Prairieville. His ministry of charity is to coordinate and support the diocesan wide nursing home ministry in cooperation with the diocesan office of Life, Peace, and Justice.