Think about it: parishes create environment to foster religious vocations

Moises Rodriguez and about a dozen others attended the Nov. 15 St. Andrew Breakfast, a monthly meeting for young men discerning a call to the priesthood. (NTC/Rodger Mallison)

A diocesan-wide effort launched in January 2025 to spread awareness and encouragement of vocations grew into that and more, said Connie Keenom, a parishioner at St. Andrew in Fort Worth.

“It just seems like within this year, our parish, school, and community have pulled together more as one big family of openness to vocations of priesthood and religious life,” Keenom said.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parishioner Wendy Collins responded in kind when asked about the Keller parish’s recently formed vocation ministry.

“We prayed as a parish for vocations before this ministry started,” Collins said. “But this is on a different level; we’re actively working to create a culture of vocations throughout the parish.

“It started slowly, but we’re getting more people involved and I’m excited for next year.”

Collins and Keenom said a January vocation ministry workshop at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton inspired and challenged them and other attendees to bolster vocational awareness in their respective parishes.

Several priests, seminarians, Serra Club members, and parishioners hosted that workshop in hopes of growing vocational awareness and support throughout the diocese.

The fostering of vocations, Pope St. John Paul II said, “must be incorporated fully into the life and activity of the [Church]” rather than relegated to marginal activity.

Bishop Michael Olson, during a Mass that began the January workshop, stressed that the “ministry for vocation fostering belongs to everyone.”

Father Brett Metzler and others echoed Bishop Olson’s words during the workshop in supplying attendees with encouragement, strategies, and tools in motivating them to foster vocational awareness in their own parishes.

Fr. Metzler stressed the urgency of fostering a culture of vocations throughout the diocese to offset the increasingly secular world’s anti-vocation stance.

Keenom and fellow St. Andrew parishioner Paula Fultz attended the January workshop, then subsequently replied to a call for volunteers to form the St. Andrew Parish vocation ministry.

Both joked that they dove in excited if unsure of exactly how to proceed or the ministry’s chances of success.

“We just prayed, knowing we’d been called to this,” Keenom said. “Saying, ‘Jesus, let us serve you, and everything began falling into place.’”

With assistance from St. Andrew’s pastor, Father Daniel Pattee, TOR, the initial committee of 10 got to work.

“We understood that if we didn’t give vocations acknowledgement, recognition, and pray for them, we were going to have a weak link,” Fultz said. “Right now, that weak link has been the priesthood. We don’t have enough of them.”

St. Andrew vocation ministry members researched vocation ministries at dioceses far and wide, ranging from Houston to Australia to formulate a plan of action.

“We didn’t just say we were praying for priests and religious,” Fultz said. “But for marriage, family life, and all vocations too because we’re working to create a vibrant, friendly environment welcoming to all vocations.”

Such efforts have included prayer chains, presence at the parish fall festival and other events, distribution of prayer cards and vocational information as well as outreach to parish shut-ins and students at St. Andrew Catholic School.

“We don’t have any pretext that we’re experts,” Keenom said. “All we are is a conduit to get education, events, and awareness out that every person in our parish has a call. We’re not here to advise or counsel them, but to help get them where they need to be and to the people who can help them with that.”

Collins spoke of similar efforts on the part of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s vocation ministry.

Collins spoke of growing vocational awareness and interest at her parish — as did Keenom and Fultz at theirs — and excitement over plans to increase such outreach efforts in the years ahead.

“It’s what God wants your vocation to be,” Collins said. “We try to touch on all of that, that everyone has a vocation. It might be priesthood or religious. Might be married life or being a single person.”

Collins cited a couple who recently joined the ministry.

“They have great energy and motivation and young children,” Collins said. “One of their comments was that we need to encourage [vocation fostering] in the home.”

Holy Redeemer Church of Aledo parishioners Matthew and Shelley Aguirre praise Father Joseph Keating’s efforts in recruiting a diverse group of parishioners with different areas of expertise to the parish’s vocation ministry.

“We received an outline of goals and objectives then, as a team, started chipping away at those,” Matthew Aguirre said.

The group tackled small goals initially.

“We glued the vocations prayer inside every hymnal in the church, and now [parishioners] say that prayer before every Mass begins,” Aguirre said.

Having previously attended a large parish in Dallas, Aguirre said he doesn’t see much difference in raising vocational awareness at small versus large parishes.

“I honestly believe that if it’s supported and driven by the pastor, no one’s going to have an issue with getting it started,” Aguirre said. “I think it’s just hearing the call as a servant of God. Because I certainly wasn’t a vocations expert when I heard the call.”

Two students inquired about vocations after a recent vocations talk by Fr. Keating, Aguirre added.

Small or large parish, vocational promotion ministry is essential, Collins said.

“It’s so important for all our parishes, even if they start with two or three people,” Collins said. “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are toolkits, information, and so many resources on our diocesan website, Serra International, and Serra USA to help you get started.”