There is good news to report: the number of seminarians for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati continues to increase, reaching a high water mark since at least the mid 1990's, if not back to the mid 1980's! As this academic year began, we have 45 men in formation for the priesthood for the Archdiocese, 28 of whom are in major theology at Mount St. Mary's Seminary of the West, 17 are in college formation at one of two houses of formation: Bishop Simon Bruté in Indianapolis or the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus.
These are great
numbers, and as Vocation Director, I am very thankful for the help and support
that our vocation program has received throughout the Archdiocese; from parish
staffs and youth ministry programs, high school campus ministries, young adult
formation groups, the excellent faculty and staff at Mount St. Mary's, my
colleagues in the Central Offices of the Archdiocese, and certainly my brother
priests who are out 'in the field;' all have helped to stem the tide of fewer
vocations to the priesthood.
But it is not
just the numbers that have continued to increase, but the quality and
dedication of our seminarians is also outstanding. We have men in formation for the priesthood
who had many options that they willingly sacrificed to pursue this most noble
of callings. Several of our college men
have full tuition scholarships based on academic merit; among our Major
Seminarians are men who had offers at the graduate level to the University of
Notre Dame, in addition to very successful business careers that were just
starting. Some of our men are very blue
collar, born and raised on farms in the rural parts of our Archdiocese,
connected to the ground in a way that those raised in cities just could not
have. Yet, they are a band of brothers,
united by the Calling from God to lay down their lives for their brothers and
sisters in the Lord was stronger.
It is an exciting
time to be working in this field, and not just here locally, but across the
country. Dioceses and seminaries are
reporting increases and record enrollments, just as we are. In fact, some seminaries are reporting that
they simply cannot accept more students as their residence halls have been
packed full. This is an excellent
problem to have!
Despite the
optimism, there is still much work to be done.
Here in the Archdiocese, we need to at least double the number of men in
formation from 45 to 70. This would
allow us to begin to turn the tide from shrinking numbers of active priests to
actually increasing the laborers in the vineyard. It is possible and we can continue the
trend. Some parishes within the
Archdiocese currently have two or three seminarians just from that parish; if
even half the parishes in the Archdiocese supported a son to enter priestly
formation here locally, we would have over 100 men in formation. Suddenly, it does not seem to be so great a
task to achieve the goals set forth by Archbishop Schnurr.
On his behalf, I
would like to thank one particular demographic for their support in our
vocation efforts: the older generation who cannot be as active as they once
were, but support the life and ministry of the Church through their vibrant
prayer life. As the prophetess Anna was
night and day in the Temple praising God, so many of this greatest generation
follow in her footsteps in their devotion to Daily Mass and recitation of the
Rosary. I ask this generation, in
particular, to keep the vocation efforts in their prayers!
Finally,
vocations to the priesthood and religious life are signs of great blessings and
vitality for parishes and dioceses. May
the Lord continue to pour out these rich blessings on our Local Church, and
increase the good work He has already begun in our midst.
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