After four years of prayer, study and discernment, they were at last found worthy. On Nov. 15, at St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral in Freehold, New Jersey, the Diocese of Trenton raised nine men to the sacred order of the permanent diaconate.
Celebrating the Mass and conferring the Sacrament of Holy Orders was Bishop David O’Connell. “We come here today for a holy purpose,” proclaimed Bishop O’Connell, “to ordain these nine men who are your husbands, fathers, relatives and friends to the order of deacon.”
Beaming in the corner of the packed church was a particular dad in his clerics, Tony Ford. The 80-year-old deacon from St. Mary’s Parish in Middlewich, Cheshire, England, sat with his wife of nearly 60 years, Mary. Together with their children and grandchildren, they’d made the trip to the United States for the ordination of their 59-year-old son, Gerard “Gez” Ford, a pastoral associate at St. David the King Parish in West Windsor, New Jersey.
Nine men were ordained to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate for the Diocese of Trenton on Saturday, November 15, 2025, during a solemn liturgy celebrated at the Co-Cathedral of St.. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold, New Jersey. Among them was Deacon Gerald “Gez” Ford. (Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )© Jeffrey Bruno 2025. All rights reserved
Tony and Gez had seen it all — and lost it all — in their individual journeys of addiction, recovery and conversion. For a time, they’d lost each other. In the Lord’s perfect knowledge of the hearts of fathers and sons, God healed them on separate paths, turning their hearts back to him.
No one was more surprised at the God of surprises than Tony. “The Lord is so good, so clever and so wonderful,” said Tony. “Gez is the same age I was when I was ordained.” In astonishment, he added, “My family had fallen apart. It was lost. It was rubbish. Look what God can do with rubbish.”
He Makes All Things New
Growing up in Manchester, England, in the ’70s, the Sacred Heart image hung in every Catholic household, everyone cheered for Manchester United, and it wasn’t uncommon to see children in a pub. “We were cultural Catholics,” remarked Gez. “In the U.K., I’d say that drinking was part of the culture back then, too. I’d watch my father’s friends drinking, smoking, laughing and watching football. I thought I’d like to be that kind of guy.”
When he was less than 10 years old, Gez got drunk for the first time. It gradually developed into an addiction. By 16, he’d failed most of his high-school classes and was drinking almost daily.
“I’d come in and wait for my father to get home,” said Gez. “I’d be drunk. He’d be drunk. I’d tell him all the things that I thought he was or wasn’t.” It often turned physical. “We’d start rolling around the living room — my mother would be crying; my two sisters would be upset. The dog would be yelping. And then, we’d go to bed,” Gez remembered. “The next day, I’d go to school; he’d go to work.”
Deacon Gerald “Gez” Ford and Bishop David M. O’Connell.(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )© Jeffrey Bruno 2025. All rights reserved
When his parents threatened to throw him out, “I was happy to go,” said Gez. He stayed with friends for months and, eventually, started sleeping on the streets of Manchester. By 17, selling drugs was his full-time occupation.
Tony was having problems of his own. “My drinking nearly smashed our family, my marriage and everything else. I lost my business. I lost our house and cars. I was sacked six or seven times. Gez was already away. Our eldest daughter left home, and our youngest spent as little time as possible in our house.
“It was chaos.”
For Mary Ford, it was enough. She turned to Al-Anon, an international recovery program for the families and friends of alcoholics. “I don’t even remember deciding to go. It’s as though I was in a blackout myself, but not from drink,” said Mary. “I remember coming out of the meeting. For the first time, it felt like an anvil was lifted off my shoulders. I decided to keep on going.”
It was the beginning of her family’s healing. “Mary went to Al-Anon for her own well-being,” said Tony. “One day, this man came around that I knew. He’d gotten sober and invited me to an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting. It started slowly at first, but eventually my recovery got bigger and bigger. I still go to meetings.”
Although he never stopped going to Mass entirely, Tony started to reconnect with God. After attending a “Life in the Spirit” charismatic conference, his heart was reignited by the Holy Spirit. Eventually, he heard the call to become a deacon and was ordained in July 2004. Today, his ministry is rooted in faith formation and addiction recovery.
Deacon Gerald “Gez” Ford blesses his wife, Nadine.(Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )© Jeffrey Bruno 2025. All rights reserved
For Gez, life had become unbearable. “There were at least three attempts at taking my own life. I was seeking sweet relief. It was so painful. I thought, ‘If there’s no God, there’s no point. There’s no hope.’ But then, there was my mom and dad …”
Gez was arrested, again. He came around from a blackout in the back of a police van. Filthy and covered in blood, he finally cried out to God. “I don’t know if you exist … but if you do, I give up.” In an instant, everything changed.
“In the back of that van, I absolutely knew God existed. I absolutely knew he loved me, that he created me out of love, and that he wanted me to love his people.” Gez added, “I was filled in a singular moment with a peace that I’d never experienced in my life before.”
Gez didn’t go to jail that night. The policeman drove him home. His mother sent him to an AA meeting.
Tabor House
“I’d love to say, ‘They lived happily ever after.’ The truth is, it took decades!” said Gez.
He graduated from the University of Manchester. He joined the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and moved to the United States. Months before taking final vows, Gez discerned that God was calling him to another path. He met and married his wife, Nadine. They had three children; and, so far, they have nine grandchildren.
Gez also created Tabor House, a residential home for men recovering from drug and alcohol addiction in Trenton. Over the last 23 years, Tabor House has helped about 250 men in their recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. He also founded Carmel House, a transitional residence for graduates from Tabor House.
Joseph Poliziana has been a resident of Tabor House for seven years and serves as its co-manager. “I’ve known Gez for 19 years, and he’s been my AA sponsor for 10 years,” shared Poliziana.
“Gez is a special guy. During COVID, we were all stuck in the house. I went to three or four meetings a day online. He kept us all going,” Poliziana said. “Every day he came into Tabor House and asked, ‘What good thing happened today?’ We’d say, ‘Nothing!’ But Gez was always so positive. He loves everyone who comes through that door, even the unlovely ones — especially the unlovely ones.”
The Call
The COVID pandemic hit locals struggling with addiction especially hard. “Churches were closed. There were no funeral homes. There were no funeral services,” said Gez. “The fentanyl problems that had started a few years before grew worse. People were dying. The devil was all over this.”
Between Tabor House and what was happening in the streets, Gez found himself ministering to people because no one else could. He was praying with grieving loved ones, bringing his guitar and singing at makeshift wakes, and working to keep everything running at Tabor House.
Nadine was the first to discern her husband’s call. She asked him, “Do you think you’re being called to be a deacon?”
Gez emphatically replied, “Absolutely not.” At Nadine’s repeated insistence, he promised to pray about it. He said a half-hearted novena.
Deacon Gerald “Gez” Ford poses with his family after being ordained to the Sacred Order of the Diaconate for the Diocese of Trenton on Saturday, November 15, 2025, during a solemn liturgy celebrated at the Co-Cathedral of St.. Robert Bellarmine in Freehold, New Jersey. (Photo: Jeffrey Bruno)© Jeffrey Bruno 2025. All rights reserved
He spoke to his father on their regular Friday night calls. He spoke to his mother as well. They both pointed out how challenging the diaconate can be for family life.
“I asked the Lord, ‘What are you going to do about all this? In prayer, I heard him reply, ‘What are you going to do about it?’”
Applying to the diaconate was Gez’s response to God’s question.
Nadine’s “Yes” to the diaconate was as essential as Gez’s. Being the daughter-in-law of a deacon had given her insight to the blessings and challenges of a deacon’s wife. “My prayer is that Gez has the grace to discern God’s voice. From Tabor House, to being a pastoral associate and a deacon … add family, marriage children and grandchildren into this, and it’s a lot. My prayer is that God’s voice is very clear to him.”
At St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Bishop O’Connell continued his remarks to the diaconate class of 2025. “All of us gathered today recall the apostles that began this community of faith that is the Catholic Church 2,000 years ago. … The order these men seek was born out the needs of the first apostles to serve that initial community of faith in practical ways.”
The moment Bishop David M. O’Connell laid hands upon Deacon Gerald “Gez” Ford in the ancient rite of ordination. (Photo: Jeffrey Bruno )© Jeffrey Bruno 2025. All rights reserved
Addressing the congregation, Bishop O’Connell added, “Deacons are deeply and personally united to the Lord Jesus Christ who serves. … He takes the whole of his life, his marriage, his family, his profession … as a deeply personal witness to Jesus Christ, who serves. In his ordination, all these things become a ministry — through, for and with the Lord Jesus Christ, who serves.
“Deacons strengthen the hands of the bishop and the priests of the Diocese of Trenton, who serve.”
The next day, on Nov. 16, Deacon Gez served his first Mass with his family and parish community at St. David the King. “The blessings of the ordination Mass were still palpable as I vested to serve my first Mass as a Deacon,” said Deacon Gez. Serving with him, was Deacon Tony.
“When my dad came into the sacristy and we began to vest, this was a profound moment for me. Little or no words were shared.
“We both had our eyes fixed on Him.”
Deacon Gez recalled, “I looked out and saw the many faces that came to celebrate the Holy Mass. So many relationships from different backgrounds, all seated around the table, all being touched in different ways by the abundant grace of the Lord.”
“Standing out were the faces of my mum, Mary and my wife, Nadine,” Gez added. “My mum, as a wife and mother of deacons, and Nadine, as the daughter–in-law and wife of a deacon — they were almost glowing with pride.” Gez added, “I could see a new depth and a shared love between them both … so much sacrifice, so much trust and faith.”
