MOUNT PLEASANT—Deacon Andre Guillet has been named assistant to the director of diaconate.
He said he took the newly created post as a way to help Father Edward W. Fitzgerald, who is pastor of Divine Redeemer Church in Hanahan and director of diaconate formation.
The area that calls for the most assistance is crisscrossing the state to interview diaconate candidates, Deacon Guillet said.
So far, there are 56 men in the process of discernment. He said they have met once a month for workshops and in June, Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone will decide how many men to accept into formation.
Deacon Guillet said he knows Bishop Guglielmone from their days in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., where the deacon was ordained in 1985. He said he is sure God had a hand in his final destination.
Born in Bordeaux, France, the deacon moved to the United States 45 years ago. After New York, he planned to move to Florida, but stopped in Charleston for a job as general manager of McCrady’s Restaurant. He said he was captivated by the city’s character, charm and beauty.
“It’s a sweet town,” he said, adding that it reminds him of where he spent his summers as a child. “I felt at home here.”
He recently retired from the restaurant business and promptly took on two other jobs, as diaconate assistant and spiritual director of the Cursillo movement. In the latter role, he will be in charge of retreats and give talks, he said.
He serves at Christ Our King Church in Mount Pleasant and has four sons and nine grandchildren. He said his passion is the diaconate and Cursillo, which he has been involved with since 1977.
“I love it. My whole life was a life of service [in restaurants] and now I’m continuing my call and career in serving the people of God,” Deacon Guillet said.