Suggestion for the pillar: Come to Arlington Diocese in Northern Virginia. Last year they made national news because they had 12 men ordained to the priesthood, this year they had 7 men ordained. My parish alone has 2 men in the transitional diaconate program, 2 men in seminary and at least two that are considering priesthood.
I don’t know how this question can be considered without mentioning being tradition friendly. While it’s not a panacea—as San Fransisco seems to show—Dioceses like Lincoln and Charlotte (pre-Martin) show strong track records on vocations. On the flip side, one is going to have a hard time finding a very liberal prelate in the mold of Cupich et al. who has a track record of strong vocations. Also, the same phenomenon is clearly seen in religious orders, so there’s no reason why it also wouldn’t apply to dioceses.
I assume you mean "Serra Club" rather than "Sierra Club" ... the latter is an environmental organization, the former is devoted to vocations under the patronage of St. Junipero Serra.
My brother is a priest for Wichita and I now live in the Arlington diocese. I was surprised Bishop Kemme also didn't mention perpetual adoration, which is usually one of the first things cited. Here in Arlington, I'm not aware of perpetual adoration in any parish, however, and still doing well with sems. I do think where Wichita and Arlington share a similarity is in young priests, highlighted by the vocations director for Baltimore, which I think matters a lot, too. You then get a virtuous cycle of young priests relating well to young adults.
At least when I was growing up in a rural town in the Salina diocese, our priest, who was a family friend we'd have to dinner regularly, was older than my parents. I don't know if he ever asked my brother if he'd be interested in the priesthood, but I know he never asked me. I was glad to see Jack's article raising this point. You gotta pitch the idea to men to get them thinking about it. I would bet this is the greatest similarity among dioceses with healthy vocations. But if that bet is accurate, the question would be whether dioceses with an older presbyterate can break the cycle of declining seminarians.
I don't necessarily accept the rural/urban divide, however. I know it's been said elsewhere that maybe New York and LA need to be broken into smaller dioceses. When I was growing up in the Salina diocese, they have always struggled to attract seminarians, although Bishop Vincke is having some success. And the same holds for Dodge City, even as they ordained two priests this year for the first time in decades. I will say they have the same challenge as San Francisco Bay: as young adults leave for Kansas City or somewhere, the pool from which to recruit is far too small. And of course, Philadelphia is mentioned as a success here, and DC has done well in recent years, too. And maybe such success in urban areas is more attributable to the the mini-revival we're experiencing?
One final thought. Without priests, we can't have the sacraments, and so I totally get the emphasis for them, but I have complained to my brother and other priest friends that Wichita doesn't seem--to my eyes--to do nearly enough to promote vocations to the religious life. We definitely need more sisters, and I feel like it's treated as an afterthought. I very much appreciate that my parish has a separate poster from the priests for those discerning the religious life. More of that elsewhere, please.
Suggestion for the pillar: Come to Arlington Diocese in Northern Virginia. Last year they made national news because they had 12 men ordained to the priesthood, this year they had 7 men ordained. My parish alone has 2 men in the transitional diaconate program, 2 men in seminary and at least two that are considering priesthood.
I don’t know how this question can be considered without mentioning being tradition friendly. While it’s not a panacea—as San Fransisco seems to show—Dioceses like Lincoln and Charlotte (pre-Martin) show strong track records on vocations. On the flip side, one is going to have a hard time finding a very liberal prelate in the mold of Cupich et al. who has a track record of strong vocations. Also, the same phenomenon is clearly seen in religious orders, so there’s no reason why it also wouldn’t apply to dioceses.
I assume you mean "Serra Club" rather than "Sierra Club" ... the latter is an environmental organization, the former is devoted to vocations under the patronage of St. Junipero Serra.
My brother is a priest for Wichita and I now live in the Arlington diocese. I was surprised Bishop Kemme also didn't mention perpetual adoration, which is usually one of the first things cited. Here in Arlington, I'm not aware of perpetual adoration in any parish, however, and still doing well with sems. I do think where Wichita and Arlington share a similarity is in young priests, highlighted by the vocations director for Baltimore, which I think matters a lot, too. You then get a virtuous cycle of young priests relating well to young adults.
At least when I was growing up in a rural town in the Salina diocese, our priest, who was a family friend we'd have to dinner regularly, was older than my parents. I don't know if he ever asked my brother if he'd be interested in the priesthood, but I know he never asked me. I was glad to see Jack's article raising this point. You gotta pitch the idea to men to get them thinking about it. I would bet this is the greatest similarity among dioceses with healthy vocations. But if that bet is accurate, the question would be whether dioceses with an older presbyterate can break the cycle of declining seminarians.
I don't necessarily accept the rural/urban divide, however. I know it's been said elsewhere that maybe New York and LA need to be broken into smaller dioceses. When I was growing up in the Salina diocese, they have always struggled to attract seminarians, although Bishop Vincke is having some success. And the same holds for Dodge City, even as they ordained two priests this year for the first time in decades. I will say they have the same challenge as San Francisco Bay: as young adults leave for Kansas City or somewhere, the pool from which to recruit is far too small. And of course, Philadelphia is mentioned as a success here, and DC has done well in recent years, too. And maybe such success in urban areas is more attributable to the the mini-revival we're experiencing?
One final thought. Without priests, we can't have the sacraments, and so I totally get the emphasis for them, but I have complained to my brother and other priest friends that Wichita doesn't seem--to my eyes--to do nearly enough to promote vocations to the religious life. We definitely need more sisters, and I feel like it's treated as an afterthought. I very much appreciate that my parish has a separate poster from the priests for those discerning the religious life. More of that elsewhere, please.