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This paper seeks to discuss the permanent diaconate with special reference to Zimbabwe. In the first chapter it will analyze the restoration of the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church according to the vision of the Second Vatican Council, and its subsequent development in papal legislation. The second chapter will provide historical research into the introduction of the permanent diaconate in Zimbabwe.The third chapter will present the current universal and particular law on the permanent diaconate as well as magisterial statements. Finally, chapter four will look at some canonical matters concerning the diaconate. The author will also present his own suggestion for a suitable profile of the permanent diaconate in the situation of Zimbabwe and investigate what canonical structures and mechanisms can foster the effective placement of deacons and safeguard their particular identity.

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Christoph Eisentraut was born in 1960 in Germany. He is a Catholic priest and a member of the Missionaries of Mariannhill (CMM). He has worked as a missionary in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo. He studied theology at the university of Wuerzburg and St Meinrad School of Theology. He obtained a masters degree in Canon Law from St Augustine College.

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