Special to The Message
Deacon Christopher Malone, a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, was honored July 30 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award at the annual St. Meinrad Alumni Reunion. He was a deacon candidate from 1999-2003 in the first cohort of deacons to graduate from St. Meinrad’s Permanent Deacon Formation Program.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award, given by St. Meinrad, was established in 1990 to honor alumni who exemplify the Gospel values and have provided exemplary service in their lives or professions. The recipient also reflects and upholds the core values and mission of St. Meinrad. The Alumni Association’s Board of Directors reviews nominations for the award annually and makes recommendations.
Deacon Malone graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in history. From there, he studied law at the University of Virginia, graduating in 1979. Later he earned a master’s degree in theology from St. Leo University.
After graduating from law school, he clerked for the Supreme Court of Virginia for two years. For the last 43 years, he has worked at ThompsonMcMullan P.C., where he currently serves as vice president and partner.
Deacon Malone was ordained a deacon Feb. 22, 2003, and assigned to the Church of the Redeemer in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Soon after ordination, he was also appointed as the vicariate deacon for the Central Vicariate, a role he served in until Jan. 1. As new deacon formation cohorts began to form in the Diocese of Richmond, Deacon Malone served as a member of the formation team and helped select and evaluate aspirants and candidates.
He is currently a deacon at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Richmond, Virginia, where he serves on the parish council, as chair of the Social Justice Committee, leads various prayer groups, and visits the sick and homebound. Deacon Malone is involved with the parish’s Haiti Committee. He has been to Haiti numerous times, maintains ongoing relationships with the twin parish in Carissade, Haiti, and coordinates visits. He oversees the parish’s annual grant process for distribution of funds to local agencies and programs serving the needs of the area’s poor.
Deacon Malone is president of the Board of Directors of St. Francis Home, a social ministry of the diocese that provides assisted living for the poorest elderly. He is also on the Board of Directors of Chesterfield Alternatives, Inc., which provides housing for developmentally disabled and chronically mentally ill individuals. He is active in Boy Scouts of America both locally and at the diocesan level and is active in campus ministry.
As a lawyer, Deacon Malone works with the homeless population and provides pro bono legal services to clients in need of legal assistance. He assists regularly in the formation of new non-profits to aid the poor, including local St. Vincent de Paul chapters. He was the 2016 John C. Kenny Pro Bono Award recipient from the Richmond Bar Association, an award presented annually to individuals or firms that show a dedication to pro bono legal services to greater Richmond’s poor and underserved.
He and his late wife fostered international refugee children for many years and adopted three of their five children. He has experience with the adoption process and assists families and child placement agencies in resolving disputes to establish homes for children.
Deacon Malone has admission to the U.S. Supreme Court and all Virginia courts. He has been recognized by the Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers Virginia List, Top 100 and Top 50 for many years and is the Benjamin Rice Lacy IV Volunteer of the Year for 2018 by Greater Richmond Bar Foundation.
Deacon Malone is the 34th St. Meinrad alumnus to receive the Distinguished Alumnus Award.