St. Joseph is the model of quiet strength and humble obedience, exemplifying trust in the Lord’s will. While he didn’t seek out his role as the foster father of Jesus and spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he, without hesitation, obediently accepted it.

The humility and trust in the Lord seen in the life of St. Joseph is also visible in Deacon Wally’s journey. Naturally, he would tell you otherwise, but his life is a testament to unflinching faith in the path set before him by the Lord.

From a young age, the deacon thought his future included one of two outcomes: being a pilot or a priest. The former was not meant     to be, and the latter was ruled out his senior year when Deacon Wally saw his future wife walking down the hallways of Charlotte Catholic High School in his native North Carolina.

The Lord had a plan.

Deacon Wally and his wife, Mary Jo, relocated to Birmingham from Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1969, the same year the Diocese of Birmingham was erected. Once the family settled, they began attending Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood. With two kids in diapers, the Zieverinks made sure not to miss Mass and even sat in the front pew. The patriarch’s steady, guiding hand did not go unnoticed.

A friend and fellow parishioner, Pat Thornton, invited the family to one of her “after Mass” gatherings. When Deacon Wally arrived, Father Frank Muscolino just so happened to be there and introduced himself. A friendship ensued, and one day, the priest asked, “Have you ever thought about being a deacon?”

In all frankness, the deacon confesses, “I really didn’t want to be one,” but he concedes that the Holy Spirit was at work. His wife insisted he would be the ideal candidate, and for the next three years, Deacons Wally and Hugh O’Brien made their way to St. Thomas in Eastlake, which was the diocesan Chancery at the time, for three hours of instruction each Sunday.

In 1975, Deacon Wally joined eight others at the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham to be ordained permanent deacons by Bishop Joseph Vath. He remembers it well: “On March the second, at two o’clock in the afternoon on Sunday.”

Looking back at his 50-plus years of ministry, the good deacon contends, “I don’t even know that I’ve accomplished anything other than being present.” Yet, Father Bryan Jerabek, Deacon Wally’s pastor, points out:     “I first met Deacon Wally when I visited the cathedral during school breaks while studying canon law. I had already been a priest for four or five years and had met many good permanent deacons, but with Wally there was something special — the way he was attentive to the priest-celebrant, his calm and prayerful presence in the sanctuary.” And it is that same presence that has enabled him to be a steadfast servant like St. Joseph: quiet, faithful, humble, and certain that “Jesus is right there” with him.