Do secular priests receive a vocation to a specific diocese?

[TommyQ]

I have heard a lot of talk about being called to one religious order or another, but what about diocesan priests? Are those men called to specific dioceses?

If yes, how do they discern which diocese God is calling them to serve in?

 

[Cloisters]

I have heard a lot of talk about being called to one religious order or another, but what about diocesan priests? Are those men called to specific dioceses?

If yes, how do they discern which diocese God is calling them to serve in?

A friend of mine who was a somewhat late vocation to the priesthood said that “recruiters” visited his seminary in hopes of finding priestly vocations for their dioceses. I suppose it’d be a discernment process just like finding a convent–you “just know it” when you arrive.

Typically, a man stays within his own diocese. I think it would be highly unusual for a man to go anywhere else, unless he’s African or Asian and is being recruited to work in the U.S. There’s a LOT of that going on.

HTH.

Blessings,
Cloisters

 

[puzzleannie]

a man who is drawn to the secular priesthood normally begins his disernment process with the vocations director of his own diocese, or of the diocese in which he wishes to serve. Each bishop has a preferred seminary or seminaries to which he sends candidates. and a priest is ordained for his own diocese normally, or for the diocese in which he wishes to serve, but that bishop first has to accept him. For instance I know of a priest who first entered a seminary of a religious order, midway felt call to parish ministry so switched to his own diocesan seminary. While there, recruiters from a southern diocese, one of the poorest and most in need of priests at the time, came to his seminary and he answered that call, so his bishop released him, he finished his studies and was ordained there and has served there ever since.

 

[Angel_Bradford]

Our parachial vicar is from Rhode Island. When he was discerning his vocation, his intent was to stay in New England, but while looking at a web site that had pictures of all the U.S. Bishops, he noticed that our bishop was the only one smiling and he liked that.

He called our vocations director and one in a northern diocese. Ours was the only one that returned his phone call and we ended up with a great priest:thumbsup: !

To this day, our bishop tells other bishops that they should need smile in their picture because a vocation may come from it.

 

[brigid12]

A while ago on this forum was a man who was answering the call to diocesan priesthood and he very strongly preferred a seminary in another diocese to the one in his own diocese (and being obedient to a different bishop too), due to orthodoxy issues. I don’t know how this turned out but I would imagine this would not have been a singular instance.

 

[IrishAm]

A while ago on this forum was a man who was answering the call to diocesan priesthood and he very strongly preferred a seminary in another diocese to the one in his own diocese (and being obedient to a different bishop too), due to orthodoxy issues. I don’t know how this turned out but I would imagine this would not have been a singular instance.

Our pastor was in that situation as well . . . he felt called, but was not comfortable with the seminary that would have been where he lived. Several prayerful years passed and he got a call from a friend out of the blue one day who encouraged him to investigate a seminary in another state and he knew right away it was time to say “yes” to God’s call there. But he hates being so far from his family . . .

 

[TommyQ]

Great responses, from all of you. Thank you very much.

The specific reason I asked is that I felt called to the priesthood while I was going to school out of state. I really liked the area, but I returned home after school. I feel called to serve as a diocesan priest, but more and more, I am drawn to the diocese where I first heard the call.

That other diocese is almost at crisis level with vocations. It’s a very small diocese, and because of old age, their number of priests is expected to drop from about 100 to 60 over the next 7-10 years. On the other hand, my home diocese is fairly large, has plenty of priests, and is ordaining on average about 4 per year (I think).

I was thinking about contacting the other diocese’s vocation director, but I didn’t know if that would be weird, considering we’re on opposite sides of the country. Your thoughts?

 

[Catholic_Kenpo]

I don’t see any problem with it. It certainly isn’t the norm, but as long as you can get a recomendation from your priest, it should be ok. As a matter of fact, I was looking at the Archdiocese of Anchorage website earlier regarding vocations, and they specifically mentioned candidates from out of state. If they’ve got a provision on the Archdiocese official website, there’s no reason they should turn you down if that’s where you’re called.

-CK

 

[Apologist78]

I have heard a lot of talk about being called to one religious order or another, but what about diocesan priests? Are those men called to specific dioceses?

If yes, how do they discern which diocese God is calling them to serve in?

The norm is for the person entering seminary to enter in his “home diocese” This is usually the diocese of birth, or the diocese where his family is- for example if they moved while he was still a child. In other words the norm would be for the person to enter seminary to the diocese where he resides or has a “domicile.”

However, people can and do go to other dioceses for whatever reasons and get ordained for them. I don’t know if I would call that a norm, but I would say it is not uncommon. It is and can be appropriate. Perhaps in the old days one did not see this as much, given the lack of technology. Cars were not as readily avaliable, or reliable, there were no computers, etc. However today, I think we are seeing this more and more.

 

[tuviskazinai]

Great responses, from all of you. Thank you very much.

The specific reason I asked is that I felt called to the priesthood while I was going to school out of state. I really liked the area, but I returned home after school. I feel called to serve as a diocesan priest, but more and more, I am drawn to the diocese where I first heard the call.

That other diocese is almost at crisis level with vocations. It’s a very small diocese, and because of old age, their number of priests is expected to drop from about 100 to 60 over the next 7-10 years. On the other hand, my home diocese is fairly large, has plenty of priests, and is ordaining on average about 4 per year (I think).

I was thinking about contacting the other diocese’s vocation director, but I didn’t know if that would be weird, considering we’re on opposite sides of the country. Your thoughts?

I have had a similar experience of feeling drawn to the diocese my college was in…its vocations director has been very supportive and encouraging of me. I would suggest emailing the director at the diocese you are thinking of and explaining your experience. It can’t hurt!

Also, when I asked some people on this message board what they thought about feeling torn between dioceses, they suggested going where I would be most needed. I think this is very beautiful advice and a very powerful reason to trust that calling, especially if the disparity between vocations is so great between the two dioceses you are praying about.

God bless!
AMDG.