The Catholic Church in Ireland has launched a Year for Vocations as it battles a huge drop in the number of men going to seminaries.
Where once every large family in the country expected one son to join the priesthood, the scandals that have rocked the Church in the last two decades have meant the numbers being ordained have crashed.
But now the drive to recruit more priests has been rebooted to take into account new ways of contacting those who might have a vocation – including the use of digital and social media.
While there is a worldwide shortage of priests, the new awareness campaign around the year of vocations is specific to Ireland.
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