Ireland’s national seminary has reported a new low in this year’s intake of candidates, giving rise to fears of ancient parishes closing down. Just 13 men from seven dioceses will enter studies for the priesthood at Maynooth this year, down from 20 last year. Association of Catholic Priests co-founder Fr Brendan Hoban warned in The Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Vocations’
UK Dominicans try to raise million pounds for vocations
Friday, June 13th, 2014Dominican friars in Britain are trying to raise one million pounds to cover costs following a rise in prospective vocations. The order has launched a training fund to try to accommodate a revival in its popularity. The Dominicans estimate it costs about 115,000 pounds to train each seminarian for seven years. There are 12 men Read more
Young people leading new spring in Irish church, nuncio says
Friday, June 6th, 2014
Young people are helping to lead a rebirth of the Catholic Church in Ireland, the apostolic nuncio to that country believes. American-born Archbishop Charles Brown told the Catholic News Service that this rebirth is like spring after 20 years of winter. “You see a renewed enthusiasm among young Catholics in Ireland now,” Archbishop Brown said. Read more
After years of decline, Catholics see rise in number of future priests
Friday, September 27th, 2013After decades of glum trends — fewer priests, fewer parishes — the Catholic Church in the United States has a new statistic to cheer: More men are now enrolled in graduate level seminaries, the main pipeline to the priesthood, than in nearly two decades. This year’s tally of 3,694 graduate theology students represents a 16 Read more
Vocations rise for third year in England and Wales
Friday, April 19th, 2013Vocations to religious orders in England and Wales have risen for the third year in a row, and this year has seen a noticeable increase in the number of men joining. The rise in men and women entering religious orders is across a wide variety of different orders, some of which have not had novices Read more
Pope: God still calls people to be priests and religious
Friday, December 21st, 2012God still calls people to a life of complete dedication in the priesthood and the consecrated life, Pope Benedict XVI writes in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 21, 2013. “Today too, Jesus continues to say, ‘Come, follow me’.” “The love of God sometimes follows paths one could never Read more
Parents urged not to block a priestly vocation
Friday, June 29th, 2012
Parents should take care not to block their son’s calling to the priesthood, new Vatican guidelines on promoting vocations say. “Even though a sense of respect for the figure of the priest is cultivated in Christian families, it is still noticeable, especially in the West, that they have a certain difficulty in accepting that their Read more
Number of women joining religious orders triples in three years
Friday, June 15th, 2012The number of women joining religious orders in England and Wales has almost tripled in the last three years, according to bishops’ conference figures. In 2011 there were 17 new women recruits to orders across the country, up from six in 2009. Asked if this marked the beginning of a revival for women religious in Read more
Pop band release single in support of vocations drive
Thursday, May 31st, 2012An electro-pop band have released a single in support of the English and Welsh Church’s new vocations drive. Fr Christopher Jamison OSB, director of the National Office for Vocation, commissioned the band ooberfuse to write the soundtrack for the Church’s new vocations framework. Their song, “Call my name,” comes from their forthcoming album Seventh Wave, Read more
Vocations: younger and more educated Religious take vows
Friday, April 13th, 2012
A recent US study of those who took their perpetual vows in 2011 shows that new religious are younger and more educated than in the past. “We are encouraged by the report’s findings that men and women are considering a vocation at a younger age,” said Mercy Sister Mary Joanna Ruhland, associate director of the Read more