Profiles of the men who became priests last year

By Fr. Doug LeCaptain
Diocesan Vocations Director

	Fr. Doug LeCaptain

What do you know about the men who are becoming priests in the U.S. today? Last year, Dean Hoge of the Life Cycle Institute at the Catholic University of America, surveyed the men ordained for diocesan ministry in the U.S. According to his results, reported in the Survey of 2003 Priestly Ordination:

• 36.2 was the mean age of men ordained.

• 74% had college degrees before entering seminary. (45% undergraduate, 29% graduate).

When asked about their involvement in parishes before seminary, these men indicated the following works:

• 66% Eucharistic minister

	S p e c i a l   S e c t i o n : Vocations Awareness Week 2004
	• Bridging the Gap by Bishop David A. Zubik --     'Many are called:' Let's all be vocations directors  • Angels in the 'Hood'     Chicago outreach changes lives for inner city people  • How one person made a difference for a seminarian     Support can make all the difference for those     discerning a vocation  • Deacon candidates should show background of service     'Deacons are not simply created by ordination'     • Sidebar: Deacon eligibility  • Joining a religious community is a process     Years of discernment follow a gentle invitation     • Sidebar: Signs of a call  • Norbertine finds that God is always there     God comes to us in many ways, including in the flesh  • Things have changed since the days of veils     Formation for community life has adapted more     for individuality  • Editorial -- Our vocations     One of our callings as Catholics is to look for and     encourage call to the priesthood

• 67% lector

• 73% Altar servers

• 22% Parish Council

• 21% Boy Scouts

• 19% Right to Life

• 53 % Knights of Columbus

• 47% devotions

• 59% retreats

When they were asked, "Who initiated a conversation with you about considering priesthood?" they listed, in order, the following: priest, friend, religious, parishioner, seminarian, parent, teacher, and grandparent.

Popular hobbies of the ordination class of 2003 included running, cycling, hiking, reading, playing a musical instrument and volunteering. Their principal fulltime work experiences included almost every career, with teaching, engineering, banking, and sales being the highest.

The profile of men entering seminary today is that of normal, ordinary, faith-filled men. They are involved in their parishes and have a desire to help people grow in faith. Many have pursued education beyond high school before entering seminary. They were involved in regular high school sports and activities and continue to be active today in a range of interests and hobbies.

Men that become priests today are well rounded, healthy people who are involved in parish ministry beyond high school and college. So, if we want to promote vocations, we need to provide many different opportunities to invite youth to be involved and stay involved in the different areas of parish ministry. Then look for those men who have a desire to do more in the Church and invite them to consider priesthood.