Vocations Conference September 9th-10th Knock House Hotel Knock Co. Mayo
Eighteen dioceses were represented at this conference organised by the Council for Vocations. The conference speakers were Fr. Anthony Federico, who is the vocations director of the Archdiocese of Hartford, Connecticut, USA. He was accompanied by his Archbishop Cristopher J. Coyne and Mr Alex Soucy, the director of Crossroads 4 Christ, a diocesan youth initiative.
The archbishop opened the conference, explaining why he had appointed a full-time Vocations Director in order to highlight his diocese’s seriousness in promoting vocations to the priesthood. Last year, Hartford diocese had five new men going forward for the priesthood. This year, they have eleven. Archbishop Coyne spoke about creating a CULTURE of DISCIPLESHIP and not just a culture of vocations. This is something worthy of further attention. There are examples around Ireland of where young people are finding communities of like-minded companions where together they can deepen their relationship with Christ. Archbishop Coyne noted that many young people these days, including those called to priesthood, are presenting with a lot of personal ‘issues’. In discerning a vocation to the priesthood, these issues must be explored thoroughly before going forward. There are some with issues which prevent them going any further in a journey towards priesthood. The types of issues young people are experiencing are loneliness, online porn, gaming, depression, broken relationships, etc. There are others he has come across who have made a firm and mature decision vis-a-vis the surrounding culture and have become more deeply Catholic than he was at their age and have formed a deep relationship with Christ and importantly have found a priest-mentor to help them discern.
By far the most important emphasis for the Diocese of Hartford regarding priestly vocations promotion is on PRAYER. After every Mass in his archdiocese, a prayer for an increase in vocations to the priesthood is recited. His diocese has also put significant RESOURCES towards the promotion of priestly vocations. The measure of commitment of the archdiocese to the promotion of vocations, can, he said, be measured by the amount of resources it invests. Through the diocesan lay organisation – Crossroads 4 Christ, faith communities are formed, friendships are forged, and formation is given. Young men are being converted through their relationship with Jesus. This, he says is the result of the emphasis the diocese places on creating that CULTURE OF DISCIPLESHIP, encountering Jesus honestly and wholeheartedly leading to discipleship and mission. The person changes in his or her encounter with Christ. In a personal aside the Archbishop revealed that in his own life he has grown in faith, “The reason I entered the seminary was not the same reason I was ordained years later.”.
Fr. Anthony Federico impressed the conference participants with his enthusiasm and his obvious love for the priesthood. He was honest and real. In a piece of exegesis on Mt. 9:38, (“Ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest.”), he explained that the Greek could be better translated into English as ‘beg’ rather than ‘ask’. He promotes the CULTURE of BEGGING. He cited Is 62:7 “And give Him no rest till He establishes And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” Fr. Anthony proposed prayer and patience. He unashamedly explained that we need a firm and solid trust in God’s plans. For this we need patience. The word ‘seminary’ derives from the root word ‘seed’, and it takes a long time for seeds and trees to grow. “We must have the right environment and conditions.” “We cannot get back all our missing vocations at once, but we can create a new culture where vocations flourish.”
According to Fr. Federico two major changes were made in Hartford. One, in November 2022, the archdiocese instituted a prayer for priestly vocations at the end of every Mass. Later in 2023 a full-time vocations director was appointed.
We know that in Ireland, given the shortage of priests, putting in a full-time vocations director is most likely not feasible, but it is essential that we consider how well we are supporting our vocations director or team. The least we should do is to have a team of people working with the priest for vocations promotion. Fr. Anthony put great emphasis on the culture rather than changing programmes. He emphasised the importance of confident prayer on several occasions expecting a lot from God since he said, “Our God always over-provides.” He repeated again and again that “We must have a disposition of relentless hope based on God’s faithfulness.” He also made it clear that the promotion of priestly vocations is not recruiting rather it is bringing the man closer to Jesus and letting Jesus communicate His Will. He described the vocations director as the ‘chief beggar’ of his diocese. “It is not about finding seminarians but enlisting new beggars” and “Calling on as many people as possible to pray”. He tries to encourage people to offer their Rosary, hours of adoration, fasting once a week, asking the intercession of the saints, etc, and he underlined the importance of parish vocations committees to make priestly vocations a live topic in every parish. He also placed a lot of emphasis on teaching children to pray, specifically on how to pray to know their own vocations in life and that the pastor and indeed lay parishioners regularly invite young people to consider their calling in life. He also referenced the good work done by certain on-line evangelists such as Bishop Robert Barron and Fr. Mike Schmitz.
The things that worked for Fr. Anthony in his parish were:
- Having a Full-time vocation director.
- Bold prayer across the diocese.
- Investing in social media + website.
- Having secondary school discernment groups.
- Parish vocations committees.
- Asking the religious to pray for vocations.
For Fr. Anthony, the things that didn’t work were.
- A part-time vocations director
- A billboard campaign
- The called by name initiative
Furthermore, Fr. Federico challenged us as a group, “I believe that the Lord will send us as many seminarians as we are prepared to be fathers to.” In promoting vocations to the priesthood we undertake the responsibility to support and guide any man who comes forward with an interest in the priesthood. We must not leave him isolated but be prepared to walk with him and give him what help and formation he needs, to let him know that we are praying for him and to invite him into a group of like-minded disciples. All of the faithful have a responsibility here and especially every priest. Fr. Anthony encourages all pastors to act like ‘vocations directors’.
In a helpful piece of advice Fr. Federico explained that we must understand and empathise with the young man who comes with an interest in a vocation to the priesthood. “We must get inside his head”. What are the things with which he struggles? How does the world appear to him? Fr. Anthony gave us some pointers which might be useful in getting to understand a young person who comes forward expressing an interest in the priesthood:
- He has been discerning on his phone.
- He has a distrust of institutions.
- He may be lonely.
- He may have been raised in a culture of noise.
- His family background may not be stable
- He has a desire to be known.
- He is eager to be part of change.
- He may struggle with anxiety/depression/pornography.
- His parents are sceptical.
- He is scared of commitment.
- He needs a father.
In a survey of his own diocese, only thirty percent of priests have ever asked a young man to consider the priesthood. But the good news is that eighty eight percent of newly ordained priests had been invited by a priest to think about the priesthood. He reminded us again that the greatest advertisement for the priesthood is a joyful priest, and he has no doubt that the Lord will provide. In the words of one of the Irish Vocations Directors in summing up what he personally got from the conference, “We must become joyful bold beggars”
The third speaker, Mr Alex Soucy, spoke about his young adult community, ‘Crossroads 4 Christ (C4C)’. The aim of C4C is to bring young adults together in places where they feel safe and welcomed, so that they can together get to know Christ and themselves and be formed. He has found that there are lots of youths, young men especially, who seek friendship and belonging. In this safe place they can ask their questions and grow into disciples of Jesus. At each of their meetings, adoration is essential. One-to-one meetings are offered to all the group and personal and faith formation is key. According to Alex Soucy Christus Vivit (the Post–Synodal exhortation to young people 2019) is essential reading for those interested in young adult formation. In C4C there is an emphasis on listening to the other, witnessing to Christ’s action in their lives. C4C encourages young people to open up about their spiritual lives in small group discussions. “There are lots of cups of coffee”. In time leaders will emerge and some members are chosen to be youth directors and are commissioned by the bishop. In addressing the issue of dealing with members living a lifestyle not in keeping with Gospel values C4C has the policy of accepting, but not affirming all lifestyles, endeavouring to bring each individual closer to the Lord. C4C has been the cause of several young men discovering a vocation to the priesthood.
If we are serious about the promotion of vocations to the priesthood then we have to look closely at the resources we are investing in it. This does not imply primarily financial resources though some financial outlay is essential. There needs to be a dedicated team in each diocese and indeed at parish level to keep the focus on priestly vocations. There is need for an intentional and unashamed emphasis on the need for priests. Prayer and trust in God’s providence is fundamental as is the creation of places and spaces where young people can be formed in faith and discover their path in life. This is not recruitment. It is an invitation to come closer to Christ and let Him lead wherever He wills.
