Deacon John Yike: Planting a seed can be amazing

“A couple of days later at morning Mass, (the caregiver) came up to me and said, ‘I don’t know what blessing you gave that lady, but it changed her life,’” Deacon Yike recalled of the encounter, which played out last fall during his six-month diaconate internship at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Destrehan. “I just said a few words, but God can take that and just change it for people.”
    

The 62-year-old Yike, the third of seven children, grew up in Atlanta, attending Catholic school through fourth grade before going to public school. Throughout his childhood, his parents were the dedicated, go-to church volunteers who would set up the altar in the cafeteria for the Sunday night Youth Mass. 
    

“At some point in time, I grew up and kind of got tired of the kiddie Mass. I graduated out of high school and I just kind of wandered away for a little while,” he said. “I’ve often wondered what kind of different route I would have taken if somebody had come up at that time and said, ‘John are you thinking about (the priesthood)?’”
    

Deacon Yike followed his parents to New Orleans when they opened a statue and plaque business for the 1984 World’s Fair. In 1987, Yike had a ticket to attend his first Mass in decades, and it was a big one: He would join the throngs of people who stood in the rain on the New Orleans Lakefront to hear Pope John Paul II say, “Do not be afraid! There is still light in the world,” just as a beam of sunlight broke through the gray and illuminated the altar.
    

Deacon Yike began attending Mass with his parents at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Bywater (now Blessed Seelos Parish), went to confession for the first time in 25 years, became secretary of the Legion of Mary and began serving at Mass and mentoring the parish youth group. He also entered into formation for the permanent diaconate, leaving the program after a couple of years to focus on helping his family’s struggling business in the wake of the 2010 oil spill.
 

A priest awakened his call 
    

However, his spiritual strides must have been evident, as his newly arrived pastor, Father José Lavastida, asked him at their first meeting: “Have you ever thought about being a priest?’”
    

“He was part of that door opening up to get me in seminary. It’s all his fault,” chuckled Deacon Yike, who entered Notre Dame Seminary in 2014 at age 56. He remembers sitting around the lunch table with his new seminary classmates.
    

“Everybody’s going, ‘I’m 32,’ ‘I’m 26,’ ‘I’m 38,’ and I’m like, ‘Gee my niece just turned 40,’” said Deacon Yike, lauding Notre Dame Seminary’s diverse and challenging course load of philosophy, catechism and Scripture classes that always seemed to interrelate.
    

“They were really good about matching up the different classes each semester so they built off of each other,” he said. “I loved it!”
    

Following his ordination to the transitional diaconate last May, his internship at St. Charles Borromeo exposed him to the grit and dedication of Father Dominic (Mixie) Arcuri, pastor, and Father Jude Emunemu, parochial vicar, who would consistently answer daily calls from those in need of an anointing or a visit. Deacon Yike also assisted at baptisms, youth and prayer groups and honed his homiletic skills at St. Charles Borromeo’s daily and weekend Masses. He will return to the Destrehan parish for his first priestly assignment, as parochial vicar.
    

“I feel pretty comfortable now. It’s always nice to get the feedback,” Deacon Yike said of his homilies. “The main thing I came home with (after my diaconate internship) was, ‘John, you really need to learn how to chant.’”
    

Although his final months at the seminary – in communal isolation with more than 120 seminarians and clergy – have been “surreal,” Deacon Yike said he and his classmates have been bolstered by daily Mass, continuing formation and common meals. Deacon Yike praised seminary rector Father James Wehner for always looking out for his students, for example, making sure that retreats traditionally held off campus took place on seminary grounds.
    

They haven’t missed a beat.
    

“(When the pandemic is over) I hope we can go back and look at what’s really been important during this time – family and friends – and not lose that as the world starts picking up,” said Deacon Yike, who has been able to offset the monotony of the lockdown by taking long drives and visiting his 87-year-old father, who still resides in Bywater.
    

Some occasional comfort food also helps, he said.
    

“You don’t realize how used you get to running to Popeyes for chicken,” Deacon Yike said. “We did get it delivered in once or twice though. I gotta have my Popeyes.”
    

Beth Donze can be reached at bdonze@clarionherald.org.