Pastors and Parish Priests
Priests inspire future priests. It is the example and invitation of a priest that is the single greatest tool for promoting vocations to the priesthood. Priestly fatherhood can also provide women discerning religious life with a safe place to discern and pursue their vocation.
The Role of Pastor or Parish priest
What can I Do?
- Establish a Vocation Enrichment Team in your parish to assist you in promoting vocations in the parish.
- Conduct “5 Conversations on the Priesthood”
- This short booklet offers a straightforward method for parish priests to help young men begin to think about the priesthood. Using clear language, Fr. Pratt lays out the field-tested method he uses to engage teens & young adults in five short conversations about priestly life. It’s a concise and effective way for priests to reach out to “regular Catholic guys” in their parishes. view here
- Invite young men to attend discernment events such as St. Andrew’s Dinners view here
- Regularly tell your parishioners at Mass that you love being a priest
- Pray for vocations from your parish
- Acknowledge vocations events in the parish calendar
- Sponsor a special event acknowledging the Altar Servers of your parish and their families view here
- Celebrate Mass for priestly vocations every possible Wednesday. Use the “Mass for Vocations to Holy Orders” in the section on Masses for Various Needs and Causes in the Sacramentary
- Provide exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for vocations every week