Deacon Santosh Kumar has been ministering in the parish Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Kalpahad, North Andaman, where parishioners regularly walk 6 km (3 miles) through dangerous forests to attend Sunday Mass.

But Deacon Kumar and the parish priest also have to make the trek through dense forest to get to far-out chapels to celebrate Mass or make pastoral visits.

He told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “It is a struggle to get to the remote areas, to have to make our way through the forests.

“But we think about the people who live in those places and come to Mass, and that gives us the strength to go on.”

Stressing the great faith of Catholics living in far-flung parts of the parish, he added: “When we go to those chapels we never find them empty – they have a thirst for the Eucharist and prayer.”

Not all of the chapels are reached on foot, some of them can be accessed by the region’s basic roads – and ACN provided the parish with a motorbike to help them make these trips.

Deacon Kumar said: “The motorbike is very useful because if we didn’t have it we couldn’t fulfil our mission visiting villages 10, 20 or even 30 km away from here.”

And he added that sometimes even after covering long distances by road they still need to trek through the jungle to reach their destination.

These are not the only problems faced in Kalpahad parish. Deacon Kumar said: “There is no electricity here, no internet, and a scarcity of water – but we manage to get by.”

Deacon Kumar is set to be ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Visuvasam Selvaraj on 12th May.

He was the first seminarian in Port Blair Diocese – which covers the whole of India’s Nicobar and Andaman Islands, including remote jungle regions – to receive help with his training from ACN.

He journey to the priesthood began after praying fervently for his father’s recovery from cancer.

He said: “I never thought of becoming a priest, but then my father got cancer. I prayed to God and it started changing my life.”

After his father’s recovery, Deacon Kumar was drawn to the ministry: “In my diocese priests are few in number, but seeing the priest working for the people, I saw their thirst for Christ, and their need for the Mass and other sacraments.”

He concluded: “Thank you to Aid to the Church in Need and all your benefactors for the support you’ve given to me on my path to priesthood.”

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations (CCLV) released The Class of 2024: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood in anticipation of the 61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 21. This annual commemoration occurs on the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Pope Francis has expressed his gratitude for “mothers and fathers who do not think first of themselves or follow fleeting fads of the moment, but shape their lives through relationships marked by love and graciousness, openness to the gift of life and commitment to their children and their growth in maturity.”

Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, chairman of the CCLV committee, echoed Pope Francis stating, “Mothers and fathers, united in marriage, are the first witnesses to love for their children. It is within the family that children are taught the faith, learn the meaning of love, and grow in virtue. This year’s study of ordinands underscores the fundamental role that families, in particularly, parents, play in building up the kingdom of God. It is through the love and support of the family that children develop into the men and women God calls them to be.”

Of the 475 men scheduled to be ordained this year, 392 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 83%. These ordinands represent 128 dioceses and eparchies and 29 distinct religious institutes in the United States. Some of the major findings of the report are:

• On average, respondents first considered a priestly vocation when they were 16 years old. The youngest age reported was three years old and the oldest was 53 years old.
• The average age at ordination was 34 years old. Since 1999, the average age was 35 and ranged between 33 and 37.
• Most respondents are White/Caucasian (67%), followed by Hispanic/Latino (18%), Asian/Pacific Islander (11%) and Black/African American (2%).
• Of those who are foreign-born (23%), the most common countries of origin are Mexico (5%), Vietnam (4%), Colombia (3%), and the Philippines (2%).
• Of those who worked full-time before entering seminary (70%), the most common fields of employment were education (21%), business (16%), and Church ministry (13%).

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In his homily, Cardinal Tagle thanked the new priests’ families, their formators, professors, and the Legionaries who accompanied the new priests up to now. He also invited the new priests to be Jesus’ friends. “He calls all His disciples friends, particularly the priests. (. . .  ) Let’s be desirous to hear His words. Let’s not be afraid to open our heart to Him. This is how one is Jesus’ friend.” The Cardinal also recalled the importance of being “compassionate brothers to others,” inviting the new priests to be a consoling presence because “only thus will your priestly ministry of the Word, Sacrament and Shepherding edify the Family of God in communion and common mission.”

Among the 20 new priests, there are six Mexicans, three Americans, three Brazilians, three Colombians and one South Korean, one Canadian, one German, one Spaniard and one Venezuelan.

Sixty percent (12) of the new priests come from one of the Vocational Centers of the Legionaries of Christ (Minor Seminaries). Forty percent (8) entered when they had finished their “preparatoria” [stage between primary school and high school], or in some cases, University.

Three of the new priests were accompanied by their blood-brothers, who are also priests. It’s the case of Fr Andrew Torrey, LC, who has a brother-priest in the same Religious Family. It’s also the case of Fr Juan Pablo Castañeda, LC, who has two brothers that are also Legionaries. For his part, Fr Santiago Vázquez, LC, has a brother who is a diocesan priest and who was present at the Ordination ceremony.

The Mass of Priestly Ordinations  took place two days before the opening of the General Convention of the Regnum Christi, the Family of which the Legionaries of Christ are a part, as are its consecrated men and women, and hundreds of lay members, who clothed the new priests and accompanied them during the Mass of Ordinations. ZENIT Agency is also a work of the apostolate of the Legionaries of Christ and of the Regnum Christi.

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In 2021 Kendra Baker moved to Seattle after graduating from Western Washington University. She always lived her Catholic faith. Her father fell from the roof of their home and suffered wounds that put his life in danger. The family called a priest to pray with them. Hours later her father opened his eyes. “The doctors had told us to prepare ourselves for a funeral. He learned to walk again, to speak, to drive and can eat normally.” Kendra felt a “subtle impulse” to the religious life, motivated by something more than her father’s recovery. “It wasn’t a resounding voice of God saying: ‘Kendra, go to the convent now.’”

After much reflection and prayer, Kendra found a Religious Community aligned with her interest in contemplative spirituality and pastoral service. Initially, she was accepted as a candidate by the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Los Angeles, but afterwards there was an “impediment”: the debt of her student loan.

One who enters religious life in the Catholic tradition makes a vow of poverty, but it’s not right to charge debts to the Community on one’s arrival; in general, candidates pay their debts before. There are Communities with no income to attend to those payments. There are some 20% of Americans with University degrees that have student loan debts (namely, loans acquired during the period of studies to pay the University), and they have complications to follow their consecrated vocation once their studies have ended.

A Report of the United States National Conference of Religious Vocations warned in 2013 that “the educational debt has become a dissuasive element for many in discerning their religious vocation.” The average debt of student loans in the United States is around US$30,000.

Organizations have arisen that help candidates to Religious Orders with this problem, such as the Labouré Society, to which Kendra took recourse. Since 2003, this Society has supported 400 Catholics desirous of following the religious life.

The Labouré Society gives part of the necessary money and facilitates candidates to collect money in six months through telephone calls, writing of letters, and assisting at meetings with potential donors in their communities. Kendra thought she’d need between five and ten years to pay her debt with the Labouré Society’s system, but she achieved her objective in less than six months and will enter the Religious Community of her choice in Los Angeles this summer.

Kristen Chenoweth, a convert from Lutheranism to Catholicism, followed another path. At 30, she completed her degree in Family Ministry and a Master’s in the Administration of Non-Profit Organizations. She wished to enter the Community of the Dominican Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Illinois, but was burdened with a US$80,000 debt in student loans. Kristen paid her loans by working, living austerely, collecting funds in Grand Rapids, Michigan and selling Rosaries on Etsy. She collected US$5,000 from the sale of Rosaries and US$23,000 with the help of the Dominican Sisters and her GoFundMe program. Then she was given the news that the Catholic Fund for Vocations, which supports student loans, would pay the rest.

The Fund for Vocations doesn’t request aspirants to collect funds, but to make monthly payments for their student loans during their time of formation for the religious life. This Fund began its activity in the year 2000 and has grown considerably over the last years. It allocated 28 grants amounting to US$900,000 last year, for amounts between 5,000 and 7,000 dollars.

Some Religious Orders request aspirants to have University degrees to enter the Order, especially institutions that offer medical and educational services. Some aspirants commit themselves to pay their students debts, but might meet with difficulties when it comes to their perpetual vows, if they committed themselves to pay them before their religious profession.

Gianna Casino studied Biochemistry and graduated with a US$20,000 debt. Her family committed to pay it by making monthly payments. However, her parents met with financial difficulties and the payments ceased. It was the Fund for Vocations that liquidated the rest of the remaining loan.

Gianna has begun studies to be a mental health clinical adviser at the Divine Mercy University. She completed her mental health formation at Harvard’s School of Medicine.

The lack of vocations poses new challenges, such as freedom from financial limitations, which make difficult entrance in a Seminary or Religious Congregation. To be noted is the solidarity of the Church, where some members of the Mystical Body resolve the needs for the good of other members and of all the ecclesial community.

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“You Have Received a Call from the Lord”

The Holy Father thanked the Seville delegation, whose members he encouraged “to live these days with wonder and gratitude for the gift of faith transmitted to us by the Apostles.” The Pontiff framed the meeting on the eve “of a very significant day: Good Shepherd Sunday, which we celebrate tomorrow,” and, addressing the seminarians, he reminded them that they had “received a call from the Lord and, with the help of your formators, you are preparing yourselves to be shepherds after the Heart of Christ.”

In his address, Pope Francis highlighted four aspects of seminarians’ formative stage: ”the spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity,” and he underscored the urgency of their integration “to become complete priests and respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to brothers and sisters, especially those that suffer most.” In the Holy Father’s words, “this integration is necessary, I would say it is urgent, to become complete priests and respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to brothers and sisters, especially those that suffer most.”

The Pope Highlighted the Teaching of Blessed Marcelo Spinola

On this point, the Pope recalled the figure of the Blessed Cardinal Marcelo Spinola, “one of the many holy shepherds that this Andalusian land has had throughout history.” “This Blessed, teacher of priests, said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that must be taught preferably to aspirants to the priesthood, as knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, as we were saying, that everything in the priest — prayer, study, brotherhood, mission — is united.” The Holy Father ended his address to the seminarians of Seville with this advice: “Make good use of this intense time of formation, with your heart in God, with open hands and a big smile to spread the joy of the Gospel to all those you meet.”

At the end of his intervention, the Holy Father dedicated time for dialogue with the future priests of the Andalusian Archdiocese, responding with naturalness to questions regarding the formation and mission of a presbyter today.

“Avoid the Danger of Spiritual Worldliness”

After the audience, the Archbishop of Seville shared with the media the emotion felt by the Sevillian delegation “for having listened to the word of the Successor of Peter, who confirmed us in the faith, in the vocation and in the mission.” Archbishop Saiz Meneses said the Pope “gave us a beautiful address on the human, spiritual, intellectual, pastoral, and communitarian formation, on the wonder we must always have in our life, and in our day to day for the Lord’s irruption in our existence, calling us to be His collaborators in the establishment of His Kingdom, with some beautiful underscoring on the joy and good humour that must reign in our priestly life.”

The Archbishop also wished to highlight how the Holy Father “has called us to avoid the danger of spiritual worldliness that can go introducing itself [even] under very correct forms but that deep down is sterile. Hence, he added, the Pope “stressed union with Jesus Christ, dedication to Him and dedication to the People He has entrusted to us.”

For his part, the Rector of the Metropolitan Seminary, Andres Ibarra, pointed out that they had met with “a person very much of God, who transmitted to us the God he has in his heart and who puts us on the path of the priesthood, of the mission and of surrender to the Lord with very much joy.” The Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Ramon Gonzalez, emphasized that “Francis carries on his shoulders the weight of the Church with the strength of Jesus Christ and is at the foot of the canyon to encourage them, so that they give themselves one hundred percent. “When we return [home], we will have to reflect further on all the suggestions he’s given us and bring them to life,” he added.

“His Closeness Is a Gift for Us”

Javier Llorente, one of the seminarians who attended the papal audience, said the day was “a unique experience that reinforces our sense of community.” He was emotional as he left the papal dependencies and added that “seminarians are Pope Francis’ weakness and he gives a father’s advice. His closeness is a gift for us.”

Pablo Franco, another seminarian who assessed the meeting with the Holy Father, said: “I’m going to remember this moment always because I’ve had the opportunity to ask him about an anxiety I have in my heart and he helped me a lot. He encouraged me to continue going forward in my vocation with joy, not losing my smile and trusting in the Lord. For me, Francis is a genuine witness.”

Following is the full text of the Pontiff’s greeting to the seminarians.

* * *

Dear Brothers,

I am happy to welcome the communities of the Metropolitan Seminary and the “Redemptoris Mater” Seminary of Seville who, together with Archbishop José Ángel Saiz Meneses, have come on pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Peter. I thank them for this visit and encourage them to live these days with wonder and gratitude for the gift of faith that the Apostles passed on to us.

Our meeting is on the eve of a very significant day: Good Shepherd Sunday, which we celebrate tomorrow. You seminarians have received a calling from the Lord, and with the help of your formators you are preparing yourselves to be shepherds after the Heart of Christ.

On other occasions, I have told seminarians that this journey of configuration to Jesus the Good Shepherd must be done by taking care of four aspects: spiritual life, study, community life and apostolic activity.

This integration is necessary, I would say urgent, in order to become complete priests and to respond to the vocation received, in total dedication to God and to our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer most. In this regard, I would like to highlight the figure of one of the many holy shepherds that this Andalusian land has had throughout history, that of Blessed Cardinal Marcelo Spínola y Maestre, with whom you are well acquainted. This Blessed, teacher of priests, said: “Virtue and knowledge are the two things that should be taught in preference to those aspiring to the priesthood, for knowledge without virtue swells and does not edify, and virtue without knowledge edifies but does not instruct.” This means, as we said, that everything in the priest — prayer, study, fraternity, mission — must go together.

Dear seminarians, make good use of this intense time of formation, with your heart in God, with open hands and a big smile to spread the joy of the Gospel to all those you meet. May Jesus bless you and the Virgin of the Kings accompany you. Thank you very much.

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***

Each year, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations invites us to reflect on the precious gift of the Lord’s call to each of us, as members of his faithful pilgrim people, to participate in his loving plan and to embody the beauty of the Gospel in different states of life. Hearing that divine call, which is far from being an imposed duty – even in the name of a religious ideal – is the surest way for us to fulfil our deepest desire for happiness. Our life finds fulfilment when we discover who we are, what our gifts are, where we can make them bear fruit, and what path we can follow in order to become signs and instruments of love, generous acceptance, beauty and peace, wherever we find ourselves.

This Day, then, is always a good occasion to recall with gratitude to the Lord the faithful, persevering and frequently hidden efforts of all those who have responded to a call that embraces their entire existence. I think of mothers and fathers who do not think first of themselves or follow fleeting fads of the moment, but shape their lives through relationships marked by love and graciousness, openness to the gift of life and commitment to their children and their growth in maturity. I think of all those who carry out their work in a spirit of cooperation with others, and those who strive in various ways to build a more just world, a more solidary economy, a more equitable social policy and a more humane society. In a word, of all those men and women of good will who devote their lives to working for the common good. I think too of all those consecrated men and women who offer their lives to the Lord in the silence of prayer and in apostolic activity, sometimes on the fringes of society, tirelessly and creatively exercising their charism by serving those around them. And I think of all those who have accepted God’s call to the ordained priesthood, devoting themselves to the preaching of the Gospel, breaking open their own lives, together with the bread of the Eucharist, for their brothers and sisters, sowing seeds of hope and revealing to all the beauty of God’s kingdom.

To young people, and especially those who feel distant or uncertain about the Church, I want to say this: Let Jesus draw you to himself; bring him your important questions by reading the Gospels; let him challenge you by his presence, which always provokes in us a healthy crisis. More than anyone else, Jesus respects our freedom. He does not impose, but proposes. Make room for him and you will find the way to happiness by following him. And, should he ask it of you, by giving yourself completely to him.

A people on the move

The polyphony of diverse charisms and vocations that the Christian community recognizes and accompanies helps us to appreciate more fully what it means to be Christians. As God’s people in this world, guided by his Holy Spirit, and as living stones in the Body of Christ, we come to realize that we are members of a great family, children of the Father and brothers and sisters of one another. We are not self-enclosed islands but parts of a greater whole.  In this sense, the World Day of Prayer for Vocations has a synodal character: amid the variety of our charisms, we are called to listen to one another and to journey together in order to acknowledge them and to discern where the Spirit is leading us for the benefit of all.

At this point in time, then, our common journey is bringing us to the Jubilee Year of 2025. Let us travel as pilgrims of hope towards the Holy Year, for by discovering our own vocation and its place amid the different gifts bestowed by the Spirit, we can become for our world messengers and witnesses of Jesus’ dream of a single human family, united in God’s love and in the bond of charity, cooperation and fraternity.

This Day is dedicated in a particular way to imploring from the Father the gift of holy vocations for the building up of his Kingdom: “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Lk 10:2). Prayer – as we all know – is more about listening to God than about talking to him. The Lord speaks to our heart, and he wants to find it open, sincere and generous.  His Word became flesh in Jesus Christ, who reveals to us the entire will of the Father. In this present year, devoted to prayer and preparation for the Jubilee, all of us are called to rediscover the inestimable blessing of our ability to enter into heartfelt dialogue with the Lord and thus become pilgrims of hope. For “prayer is the first strength of hope. You pray and hope grows, it moves forward. I would say that prayer opens the door to hope. Hope is there, but by my prayer I open the door” (Catechesis, 20 May 2020).

Pilgrims of hope and builders of peace

Yet what does it mean to be pilgrims? Those who go on pilgrimage seek above all to keep their eyes fixed on the goal, to keep it always in their mind and heart. To achieve that goal, however, they need to concentrate on every step, which means travelling light, getting rid of what weighs them down, carrying only the essentials and striving daily to set aside all weariness, fear, uncertainty and hesitation. Being a pilgrim means setting out each day, beginning ever anew, rediscovering the enthusiasm and strength needed to pursue the various stages of a journey that, however tiring and difficult, always opens before our eyes new horizons and previously unknown vistas.

This is the ultimate meaning of our Christian pilgrimage: we set out on a journey to discover the love of God and at the same time to discover ourselves, thanks to an interior journey nourished by our relationships with others. We are pilgrims because we have been called: called to love God and to love one another. Our pilgrimage on this earth is far from a pointless journey or aimless wandering; on the contrary, each day, by responding to God’s call, we try to take every step needed to advance towards a new world where people can live in peace, justice and love. We are pilgrims of hope because we are pressing forward towards a better future, committed at every step to bringing it about.

This is, in the end, the goal of every vocation: to become men and women of hope. As individuals and as communities, amid the variety of charisms and ministries, all of us are called to embody and communicate the Gospel message of hope in a world marked by epochal challenges. These include the baneful spectre of a third world war fought piecemeal; the flood of migrants fleeing their homelands in search of a better future; the burgeoning numbers of the poor; the threat of irreversibly compromising the health of our planet. To say nothing of all the difficulties we encounter each day, which at times risk plunging us into resignation or defeatism.

In our day, then, it is decisive that we Christians cultivate a gaze full of hope and work fruitfully in response to the vocation we have received, in service to God’s kingdom of love, justice and peace. This hope – Saint Paul tells us – “does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), since it is born of the Lord’s promise that he will remain always with us and include us in the work of redemption that he wants to accomplish in the heart of each individual and in the “heart” of all creation. This hope finds its propulsive force in Christ’s resurrection, which “contains a vital power which has permeated this world.  Where all seems to be dead, signs of the resurrection suddenly spring up. It is an irresistible force. Often it seems that God does not exist: all around us, we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty. But it is also true that in the midst of darkness something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit” (Evangelii Gaudium, 276). Again, the Apostle Paul tells us that, “in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24). The redemption accomplished in the paschal mystery is a source of hope, a sure and trustworthy hope, thanks to which we can face the challenges of the present.

To be pilgrims of hope and builders of peace, then, means to base our lives on the rock of Christ’s resurrection, knowing that every effort made in the vocation that we have embraced and seek to live out, will never be in vain.  Failures and obstacles may arise along the way, but the seeds of goodness we sow are quietly growing and nothing can separate us from the final goal: our encounter with Christ and the joy of living for eternity in fraternal love. This ultimate calling is one that we must anticipate daily: even now our loving relationship with God and our brothers and sisters is beginning to bring about God’s dream of unity, peace and fraternity. May no one feel excluded from this calling! Each of us in our own small way, in our particular state of life, can, with the help of the Spirit, be a sower of seeds of hope and peace.

The courage to commit

In this light, I would say once more, as I did at World Youth Day in Lisbon: “Rise up!” Let us awaken from sleep, let us leave indifference behind, let us open the doors of the prison in which we so often enclose ourselves, so that each of us can discover his or her proper vocation in the Church and in the world, and become a pilgrim of hope and a builder of peace! Let us be passionate about life, and commit ourselves to caring lovingly for those around us, in every place where we live. Let me say it again: “Have the courage to commit!” Father Oreste Benzi, a tireless apostle of charity, ever on the side of the poor and the defenseless, used to say that no one is so poor as to have nothing to give, and no one is so rich as not to need something to receive.

Let us rise up, then, and set out as pilgrims of hope, so that, as Mary was for Elizabeth, we too can be messengers of joy, sources of new life and artisans of fraternity and peace.

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Father Luigi Galvani, an 80-year-old Italian missionary, has witnessed this phenomenon since his arrival in 2009. Flores has become a breeding ground for religious vocations, with five minor seminaries and over 200 religious institutes on an island scarcely larger than Campania. There are 1,300 vocations in one of the religious institutes.

Galvani highlights the simplicity of life and the people’s willingness as key factors for the vibrant ecclesial life on the island. Furthermore, interreligious dialogue flourishes, with the Muslim muezzin and Christian bells resonating in harmony every morning.

Charity also thrives in Flores, with initiatives such as the monthly distribution of food to 160 needy families and the construction of houses for abandoned mentally ill patients.

With impressive growth in vocations and a vibrant faith life, Flores emerges as a beacon of hope amidst the poverty and religious diversity of Indonesia.

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The Pontiff chose not to deliver the prepared speech, but he did offer some impromptu remarks highlighting the importance of the complementarity between marriage and priesthood. He also encouraged the seminarians to cultivate fidelity and reminded them that priestly formation is a lifelong process. He compared the seminary to a “work in progress,” urging them to be open to the novelty of the Spirit and to adopt a style of pastoral discernment. The Pope emphasized the importance of a life modeled after Jesus, emotional and human maturity, sobriety, and fraternity in the formative journey. He concluded by inviting the seminarians to conversion and renewal in their community, emphasizing the importance of living in fraternity and humility as a witness to the world.

Although he did not deliver it, we offer a translation into english of the speech delivered to each of the seminarians:

***

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Thank you for coming here this morning, and for having wished for this meeting on the ninetieth anniversary of the inauguration of the “Alessio Ascalesi” Seminary. I greet the Archbishop Domenico Battaglia, and the brother bishops, the rector, the educators and the spiritual fathers, thanking all of you for your precious service. I joyfully greet those who, in different ways, contribute to your formation: the head and the dean of the faculty, the religious sisters and also the married couples, whose presence is an important sign, reminding us of the complementarity between the sacred Order and the Sacrament of marriage: in priestly formation, we need the contribute of those who have chosen the way of marriage. Thank you for what you do! And thank you also to the psychological consultants, and the administrative and service staff.

I affectionately address you, seminarians. I feel I must express my gratitude to you for having responded to the Lord’s call and for your readiness to serve His Church; and I must encourage you every day to cultivate the beauty of faith, with enthusiasm and commitment, dedicating your lives to the ceaseless work of the Holy Spirit, who helps you to take on the form of Christ. Let us remember this: thatformation never ends, it lasts a lifetime, and that if you stop, you do not stay where you were, but go backwards. Just thinking about this continuous inner work that is priestly formation and the anniversary of your Seminary, the image of the building site comes to mind.

The Church is first and foremost a building site whose work is always ongoing. That is, she is always on the move, open to the novelty of the Spirit, defeating the temptation to preserve herself and her own interests. The principal task of the “Church site” is to journey in the company of the Risen Crucified One, bringing the beauty of His Gospel to men and women.

This is essential. It is what the synodal path is teaching us; it is what listening to the Spirit and the men of our time asks of us, without compromise; but it is also what is required of us: to be servants – this means ministers – who know how to adopt a style of pastoral discernment in every situation, knowing that all of us, priests and laity, are on the path towards fullness, and that we are all workers on a building site. We cannot offer monolithic, preconceived answers to today’s complex reality, but we must invest our energies by proclaiming the essential, which is God’s mercy, and manifesting it through closeness, paternity, meekness, refining the art of discernment.

For this reason, the journey of formation for the priesthood is a worksite. We must never make the mistake of feeling that we have already arrived, of considering ourselves ready to face challenges. Priestly formation is a worksite in which each one of you is called to put himself at stake in truth, to let God build up His work over the course of the years. Therefore, do not be afraid to let the Lord act in your life; as on a worksite, the Spirit will come first to demolish those aspects, those convictions, that style and even those incoherent ideas about faith and the ministry that will prevent you from growing according to the Gospel; then the same Spirit, after having swept away the inner falsehoods, will give you a new heart, build up your life in accordance with Jesus’ style, and make you become new creatures and missionary disciples. He will mature your enthusiasm through the cross, as it was for the Apostles. But do not be afraid of this: it can certainly be tiring work, but if you remain docile and true, disposed to the action of the Spirit without stiffening and defending yourselves, you will discover the Lord’s tenderness within your fragilities and in the pure joy of service. In this building site of your formation, dig deep, “practising the truth” within you with sincerity, cultivating the inner life, meditating on the Word, exploring in study the questions of our time and the theological and pastoral issues. And permit me to recommend something: work on emotional and human maturity. Without this, you will go nowhere!

Finally, the very structure of the Seminary is like a large building site. And I am obviously not referring to the building. A process is underway in priestly formation that entails new questions and new acquisitions: the itineraries of formation are undergoing many transformations, listening to the challenges that await priestly ministry and require commitment, passion and healthy creativity from everyone. New pastoral and missionary experiences are under experimentation, with the intention of promoting gradual integration in future ministerial life; interruptions in the itinerary are being envisaged to foster individual maturation. It is good to welcome and examine these novelties, living them as opportunities for grace and service, perceiving God’s presence in them.

We have just begun the Lenten path which, as I have had the opportunity to say, is a “time … of decisions, small and large, that are countercurrent… to rethink [our] lifestyles” (Message for Lent 2024). May your community also travel this road of conversion and renewal. How? By letting yourselves be won over with renewed wonder at God’s love, the foundation of the vocation that is welcomed and rediscovered in particular in adoration and contact with the Word; rediscovering with joy the taste for sobriety and avoiding waste; learning a style of life that will serve you in order to be priests capable of giving yourselves to others and being attentive to the poorest, not letting yourselves be deceived by the cult of image and appearance, but nurturing the inner life; caring for justice and creation, current and burning issues in your land, which awaits courageous words and prophetic signs from the Church in this regard; living in peace and harmony, overcoming divisions and learning to live in fraternity with humility. And fraternity is, especially today, one of the greatest testimonies we can offer the world.

May the “work in progress” of your building site be accompanied by the intercession of the saints: by your Patron Saint Januarius, whose presence and blood continues to infuse the lands you inhabit; by Saint Vincent Romano, a parish priest who was formed in your seminary, a model of apostolic zeal and missionary spirit; and by Blessed Mariano Arciero, who was its spiritual father, and whose liturgical memorial we celebrate today. I wish you all the best on your journey, and I accompany you with prayer. You too, please, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.

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In preparation for the celebration of the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, which the Catholic Church observes on February 2, the Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations (CCLV) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned a study on the religious men and women who professed perpetual vows in 2023 through the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University.

Some of the main findings from the report are:

– The average age of the surveyed religious individuals is 36 years. Half of the respondents are 33 years old or younger. The youngest is 24 years old, and the oldest is 78.

– Two-thirds of the respondents (67%) are Caucasian, Euro-American, or white, followed by Asian/Pacific Islanders/Hawaiian natives (12%), Hispanics/Latinos (9%), African/African Americans/Blacks (7%), and biracial/others (5%).

– Almost all respondents (99%) were raised by their biological parents during the most formative part of their childhood. Additionally, one out of sixteen (7%) claims to have been raised by their grandparents during the most formative part of their childhood.

– The majority of respondents (84%) had engaged in at least one ecclesiastical ministry before entering their institute. The most common ministerial experiences were serving as an altar server (51%), youth/campus ministry (50%), faith formation, catechetical ministry, RCIA (48%), and lector (46%).

– Approximately eight out of ten respondents (82%) state that someone encouraged them to consider religious vocation. The most common sources of encouragement were the parish priest (45%), a religious sister/brother (44%), and a friend (41%).

The complete CARA report and profiles of the Profession Class of 2023 can be found here.

Bishop William A. Wack, CSC, of Pensacola-Tallahassee, a member of the CCLV committee, recently spoke about his experiences as a bishop and how being a priest of a religious order has influenced his ministry:

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Commenting on this year’s intake of seminarians, Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan, chair of the Bishops’ Council for Vocations, said: “We must always remind ourselves that this is God’s Church (Acts 20:28).

“Today’s figure of fifteen new seminarians represents the reality, and is a clear indication, that God is still calling, and that men are responding with generosity. I prayerfully commend seminarians to God’s grace.

“We need priests and always will. The priesthood is a precious gift to the Church instituted by Christ and, as we continue to encourage vocations we do so in hope, not because we trust in our human efforts, but because we trust in God.”

Father Willie Purcell, National Diocesan Vocations Coordinator, said: “Especially during this dedicated ‘Year for Vocation to the Diocesan Priesthood’, I warmly welcome the figure of fifteen new students who have ‘taken the risk for Christ’ by entering vocational training to the diocesan priesthood. Like generations before them, when ordained as priests, they will selflessly serve the mission of the Church along with the sacramental, spiritual and pastoral needs of parishioners across the island of Ireland. The Church will do everything it can to support seminarians throughout their formation period and during their ministry as priests. I pray to the Lord in joy and thanksgiving for all vocations to the priesthood.”

The fifteen new students are currently undertaking their Propaedeutic Programme in the Redemptoris Mater Seminary, Dundalk, Archdiocese of Armagh; Royal English College, Valladolid, Spain; and, Royal Scots College, Salamanca, Spain. These fifteen bring the total number of seminarians studying for the priesthood for Irish dioceses to 64.

The Propaedeutic Stage is a distinct stage that takes place in a recognised seminary, approved by the Holy See and the relevant Bishops’ Conference – see explanation below. Upon completion of this programme, the seminarian, with the nomination of his bishop, then applies to a seminary to continue his formation for an Irish diocese.

The Council of Vocations of the Bishops’ Conference is currently promoting a ‘Year for Vocation to the Diocesan Priesthood’ on the theme: ‘Take the Risk for Christ’, and it is running until Vocations/Good Shepherd Sunday on 21 April 2024. The Year for Vocation is about encouraging conversations about the vocation to the priesthood and consists of regular events in parishes and at pilgrim sites around the country, as well as providing resources for homes and schools. The National Vocations Office is responsible for managing the Year of Vocations. For information on priesthood in Ireland and for contact details for local diocesan vocations directors, please contact info@vocations.ie and see www.vocations.ie.

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