On April 30th, the Church will celebrate the 60th annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations, also known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” This event is dedicated to praying for men and women to serve as priests, religious, and consecrated persons within the Church.
Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV), acknowledged the importance of diverse backgrounds in fostering an environment conducive to nurturing vocational calls.
Bishop Boyea encouraged families, teachers, and priests to instill faith and love of Jesus in children, emphasizing the role each plays in guiding young people towards their vocations.
In line with the event, the CCLV committee unveiled the Ordination Class of 2023 Study, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. The study surveyed 334 of the 458 men set to be ordained this year, representing 116 U.S. dioceses and eparchies and 24 religious institutes.
The research highlighted the diversity of the ordinands, with Hispanics and Latinos constituting 16% of respondents and an average representation of 15% between 2006 and 2023. The study also found that ordinands attended Catholic elementary school (43%) and Catholic high school (34%), with the majority being baptized Catholic as infants (93%), raised by their biological parents (96%), and in married households (92%).
Geographically, most ordinands received their formation at seminaries in the South and Midwest (31% each), followed by the Northeast (17%), West (13%), and abroad (7%). Interestingly, the majority considered priesthood during elementary school (32%) or high school (26%), while religious ordinands were more likely to contemplate a vocation in college (23%) or graduate school (20%).
Furthermore, 63% of respondents cited their parish priest as a significant influence on their vocation, highlighting the importance of diverse religious leaders in shaping the future of the clergy.
Pray for the clergy!
