Every vocation that comes from God is a blessing and a pathway toward holiness and fruitfulness on behalf of His kingdom. In particular, our diocese is in desperate need of more priests. The number of priests retiring in the future is higher than the number of projected priestly ordinations. There will be one priestly ordination this year. In 2025, there will be none.
On World Day of Prayer for Vocations, April 21, liturgically known as Good Shepherd Sunday, Bishop Walkowiak is launching a diocesan-wide vocations prayer initiative to encourage discernment to the vocations of the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life.
Bishop Walkowiak has asked each pastor to lead his congregation at the end of every Mass in reciting a Prayer for Vocations written for the initiative. He also asks every Catholic in the diocese to find additional times to recite the prayer in support of vocations in our diocese.
“We need the Holy Spirit to move our young people to humbly place himself or herself before God and to have the confidence to follow wherever He may lead them,” Bishop Walkowiak writes in his letter to parishioners.
Bishop Walkowiak’s letter to parishioners (English | Español)
On this upcoming Good Shepherd Sunday, as we commence this campaign of prayer, join us in thanking the Lord for the clergy who serve the people of God in our diocese. The Eucharist is the foretaste of Heaven, and we only have the Eucharist when we have priests.
