The twelve new deacons ordained for the Archdiocese of Atlanta on Feb. 4, are:

Deacon Lennison A. Alexander

Deacon Lennison Alexander

Age: 66

Date and place of birth: May 14, 1950 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

Family: He and his wife, Maureen, have been married for 41 years. They have two daughters, Nubia and Nilea, one son, Nile, and three grandchildren.

Education: Rosary Boys School, Port of Spain, Trinidad; Rhodes High School, New York, N.Y.; Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, N.Y., bachelor of science and master of science, both in mechanical engineering.

Work experience: Piping engineer, Ebasco Services Consultants, New York, N.Y., 1974-79; consulting engineer, Control Data Corp., Atlanta, 1979-86; enrolled agent, tax accountant and president, Lennison Alexander & Co., Atlanta, 1986-present.

Hobbies and interests: Photography, history, world travel and experiencing different cultures.

Service in parish ministries: Acolyte, Stephen ministry, Eucharistic ministry, lector, men’s ministry, adult faith formation, homeless and hunger ministries.

Ministries of interest in future: Homelessness, hunger and young adult ministries.

Additional languages: A little French.

Parish assignment: Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta.

Favorite quote: “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can achieve excellence” (Vince Lombardi).

Most admired person: Nelson Mandela

Deacon John J. Halloran

Deacon John Halloran

Age: 64

Date and place of birth: Jan. 9, 1952 in San Antonio, Texas.

Family: He and his wife, Florence Ngoc, have been married for 40 years. They have one daughter, Rebecca Lien, and one son, Sean Gabriel.

Education: San Diego State University, San Diego, Calif., bachelor of arts in anthropology and philosophy; Georgia State University, Atlanta, master of science in computer information systems.

Work experience: Charming Shoppes, Bensalem, Pa., director of store systems; Comtec Information Systems, Warwick, R.I., manager of product marketing; Becket and Lee law firm, Malvern, Pa., director of information systems; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia, information systems manager.

Hobbies and interests: Learning new technologies and problem-solving applications, camping, skin diving, nature photography, reading widely and writing selectively, mostly on blogs, studying genetics.

Service in parish ministries: Knights of Columbus, caregiver support, St. Vincent de Paul Society, baptismal preparation, sacristan, lector, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, altar server.

Ministries of interest in future: Prison ministry and bereavement ministry.

Additional languages: Spanish (fair and learning).

Parish assignment: St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro.

Favorite quote: “Find new ways to spread the word of God to every corner of the world” (Pope Francis).

Most admired person: Pope Francis

Deacon Charles L. Iner

Deacon Charles Iner

Age: 47

Date and place of birth: April 4, 1969 in Baltimore, Md.

Family: He and his wife, Melissa, have been married for 24 years. They have three sons, Charles A., Jonah and Jeremy, and two daughters, Mary Katherine and Alea Rose.

Education: Catonsville Community College, Baltimore, Md., and Middle Georgia College, Macon, in the field of land surveying.

Work experience: Professional land surveyor in the states of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia; president and chief executive officer of Point To Point Land Surveyors, Inc., McDonough.

Hobbies and interests: Building and working on cars, fishing, reading.

Service in parish ministries: St. Vincent de Paul Society, sick and homebound ministry, hospital ministry, baptismal preparation, RCIA, liturgy committee; extraordinary ministers of holy Communion training and altar server training.

Ministries of interest in future: Homeless food pantry, hospice ministry and outreach to immigrants, imprisoned and impoverished.

Parish assignment: St. James the Apostle Church, McDonough.

Favorite quote: “Incline my heart according to your will, O God.”

Most admired person: St. Teresa of Kolkata

Deacon J. Tony King           

Deacon J. Tony King

Age: 48

Date and place of birth: April 28, 1968 in Atlanta.

Family: He and his wife, Alanna Hicks-King, have been married for 22 years.

Education: University of Georgia, bachelor of arts in political science; Troy University, master of business administration.

Work experience: Turner Broadcasting System, media and audience research.

Hobbies and interests: Golf, sports.

Service in parish ministries: Acolyte, lector, prison ministry, retreat speaker, extraordinary minister of holy Communion and minister to the sick, hospital ministry, Christ Renews His Parish, welcome minister, food pantry.

Ministries of interest in future: Social justice, Scripture study, teaching.

Parish assignment: Sts. Peter and Paul Church, Decatur.

Favorite quote: “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).

Most admired person: Barack Obama

Deacon Ronald L. Leidenfrost

Deacon Ron Leidenfrost

Age: 50

Date and place of birth: Nov. 1, 1966 in Hackensack, N.J.

Family: He and his wife, Cindy, have been married for 19 years. They have one son, Louis, and one daughter, Ellie.

Education: St. Peter’s University, Jersey City, N.J., bachelor of science in marketing; Fairleigh Dickinson University, Rutherford, N.J., master of business administration in finance.

Work experience: FleetCor, Norcross, vice president and general manager of North America Partners. Prior experience with The Home Depot, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Ferrari North America, Inc., and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Hobbies and interests: Running, biking, golf, playing the drums and woodworking.

Service in parish ministries: St. Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, Eucharistic minister, lector, sacristan, evening prayer, men’s Bible study, and Living the Eucharist.

Ministries of interest in future: St. Vincent de Paul Society, pastoral care in hospitals and prison ministry.

Parish assignment: St. Brigid Church, Johns Creek.

Favorite quote: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).

Most admired person: The Blessed Virgin Mary who showed us how to cast fear and worry aside and to have the faith to say “yes” to the ways in which God calls us.

Deacon John S. Martin

Deacon John Martin

Age: 54

Date and place of birth: Aug. 31, 1962 in Santa Marta, Colombia, South America.

Family: He and his wife, Mary, have been married for 32 years. They have two sons, John Jr. and James, a teacher at the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., who is married to Laura, and two grandsons.

Education: Graduated from Colegio Miguel de Unamuno in Colombia, South America; St. Leo University, bachelor of science in computer information systems.

Work experience: U.S. Army retiree after 21 and one-half years of service; currently a State Farm agent in Tucker.

Hobbies and interests: Auto mechanics, vehicle restoration.

Service in parish ministries: Prison ministry, Eucharistic minister to the sick.

Ministries of interest in future: Hospital and ministry to the sick and couples ministry.

Additional languages: Spanish

Parish assignment: Our Lady of the Americas Mission, Lilburn.

Favorite quote: “Todo lo puedo con Cristo.” (“I can do it all with Christ.”)

Most admired person: Pope Francis

Deacon C. Greg Orf

Deacon Gregory Orf

Age: 52

Date and place of birth: Aug. 1, 1964 in St. Charles, Mo.

Family: He and his wife, Kristina, have been married for 28 years. They have one son, Christopher, who is married to Stephenie, and one daughter, Laura.

Education: University of Missouri—Columbia, bachelor of science in electrical engineering.

Work experience: United Parcel Service, development and integration manager focusing on technical interactions with customers.

Hobbies and interests: Hiking the trails with dogs Gemma and Roscoe, boating and woodworking.

Service in parish ministries: Prison ministry, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Life Teen, RICA, religious education, catechist.

Ministries of interest in future: Prison ministry and working with the underprivileged

Parish assignment: Good Samaritan Church, Ellijay.

Favorite quote: “I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil and He has to sharpen it a little more” (St. Teresa of Kolkata).

Most admired person: St. Maximilian Kolbe

Deacon Randall J. Ory

Deacon Randall Ory

Age: 57

Date and place of birth: May 1959 in New Orleans, La.

Family: He and his wife, Lynn, have been married for 38 years and have two children, Amanda Ory and Lindsey Ory Blanchard, and two granddaughters.

Education: Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala., master of theological studies, 2001;

University of New Orleans, bachelor of science in marketing, 1987

Work experience: Retired after 37 years from AT&T as manager-data analysis, leadership coach; Georgia Perimeter College, adjunct faculty, introduction to world religions; St. Leo University, adjunct faculty, introduction to New Testament.

Hobbies and interests: Spending time with granddaughters, run-walking, reading, traveling and following the successes of the New Orleans Saints and LSU Tigers.

Service in parish ministries: RCIA catechist, adult formation catechist, liturgical coordinator, lector trainer, Salt-Light Homeless Center ministry and Family Promise of Gwinnett.

Ministries of interest in future: Airport chaplaincy, nursing home ministry, Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, prison ministry.

Parish assignment: St. Oliver Plunkett Church, Snellville.

Favorite quote: “… to gather into one, the scattered children of God” (Jn 11:52).

Most admired person: St. Ignatius of Loyola

Deacon Pablo Perez

Deacon Pablo Perez

Age: 47

Date and place of birth: May 28, 1969 in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

Family: He and his wife, Josie, have been married for 28 years and have three daughters, Ananis and Janelle Perez and Natalis Maria Middleton, and two grandchildren.

Education: Roosevelt High School, Yonkers, N.Y., and Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Work experience: Perez Trucking, LLC.

Hobbies and interests: Loves to read, but now that he has two grandchildren he loves to fish with them.

Service in parish ministries: St. Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, marriage preparation, baptism preparation, extraordinary minister of holy Communion to the sick and prison ministry.

Ministries of interest in future: St. Vincent de Paul Society and Kairos prison ministry.

Additional languages: Spanish, which is his first language.

Parish assignment: St. Catherine Labouré Church, Jefferson.

Favorite quote: “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Lk 6:31).

Most admired person: St. Teresa of Kolkata

Deacon Harold Leon Roberts Jr.

Deacon Leon Roberts

Age: 64

Date and place of birth: Sept. 4, 1952 in Atlanta.

Family: He and his wife, Claudette, have been married for 40 years. They have one son, Bradley, and one daughter, Megan, and three grandchildren.

Education: North Clayton High School, College Park; St. Leo University, St. Leo, Fla., bachelor’s degree in liberal arts; U.S. Army Military Intelligence Officer School, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

Work experience: Retired military intelligence officer, U.S. Army; retired civilian analyst for the Department of the Army; currently manager at World Gym, Peachtree City.

Hobbies and interests: Spending time with grandchildren and watching them grow, traveling with the family, exercising and weightlifting.

Service in parish ministries: Leader of altar servers ministry, 24-hour emergency telephone ministry, assists with teaching in RCIA and Life Teen, ministers to the homebound and those in hospitals, involved in summer lunch program and Catholic Heart Work Camp.

Ministries of interest in the future: Altar servers, emergency telephone ministry, RCIA, Life Teen, ministering to homebound and those in medical facilities, summer lunch program and Catholic Heart Work Camp.

Parish assignment: St. Matthew Church, Tyrone.

Favorite quote: “Do everything you ask of those you command.”

Most admired person: Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

Deacon Erik Wilkinson

Deacon Erik Wilkinson

Age: 45

Date and place of birth: Jan. 27, 1972 in Woonsocket, R.I.

Family: He and his wife, Nancy Sestak, have been married for 13 years.

Education: College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., bachelor of arts in political science.

Work experience: Vice president for Spartan Technologies, an analytics firm headquartered in Atlanta, which provides consulting services to companies and nonprofits to help them better analyze data to make decisions that positively impact their business, services, customers and the community.

Hobbies and interests: Hiking, cycling, traveling, reading.

Service in parish ministries: Social justice ministry, Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty, extraordinary minister of holy Communion, altar servers, ministry to the homebound, lector, acolyte.

Ministries of interest in future: Homeless and prison ministry.

Parish assignment: Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta.

Favorite quote: “We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own” (Bishop Ken Untener).

Most admired person: Thomas Merton

Deacon Bradford Sidney Johnston Young

Deacon Bradford Young

Age: 55

Date and place of birth: June 10, 1961 in Boston, Mass.

Family: He and his wife, Helen, have been married for 27 years and have two sons, Henry and Franklin, and one daughter, Cecilia.

Education: University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

Work experience: Partner at ZWJ Investment Counsel, an independent investment advisory firm in Midtown Atlanta, managing investment portfolios for a broad range of clients.

Hobbies and interests: Reading history.

Service in parish ministries: RCIA, adult faith formation, Bible study, St. Vincent de Paul Society, marriage preparation, sponsor couples, adoration guardian, altar servers, Parish Council.

Ministries of interest in future: Business ethics.

Parish assignment: Cathedral of Christ the King, Atlanta.

Favorite quote: “See how the cross of the Lord is revealed to be the tree of life” (antiphon from the Liturgy of the Hours).

Most admired person: Josef Ratzinger (Retired Pope Benedict XVI)