They have one seminarian in grand island diocese…ONE. Hope the new bishop will focus on fostering vocations.
Of course i am blessed to live in a diocese who thrives in vocations, so i am lucky.
Jediliz:
Yes, this hit home with me too when I read about this appointment yesterday on Rocco Palmo’s blog. Mr. Palmo is a blogger I trust, and he mentioned that the bishop-elect is big on vocations, and he will need to get to work, since Grand Island has only one seminarian. Grand Island seems to cover a large geographical area, and when I perused the diocesan web site, it seems that many retired priests are carrying a load. Dioceses such as Wichita (Kansas) and Tulsa (Oklahoma) have many more vocations, and cover quite a few square miles (Oklahoma only has two dioceses), and of course your home diocese (Lincoln) is saying, “what priest shortage?”
Vocations in Saginaw (MI) increased all the way to 20 in just two years after Carlson arrived, and Fort Worth (TX) had an upswing to 25 in about two years after Vann arrived. Raleigh (NC) also has had an upswing under Burbidge, (Burbidge also began sending seminarians to a different seminary, which IMHO was a big help), and I’ve heard Cincinnati is having more success in vocations with Bishop Schnurr at the helm (the Fathers of Mercy now send seminarians to Mount St. Mary’s of the West, which says something positive).
A good priest told our group a few years back that when Bishop Robert Baker arrived in the Diocese of Charleston (SC), Baker went back and re-interviewed seven men who were rejected within the last two years by the diocese. Out of the seven, six entered seminary for the Charleston (SC) diocese.
I’m curious about Rochester (NY) and Albany (NY), who have received new shepherds within the past year. Bishop Matano is not afraid to shake up things (he re-opened a parish and even sometimes does the TLM), and Scharfenberger spoke his mind at an ecumenical gathering he attended last summer. Both Matano and Scharfenberger have many challenges as the local ordinary.
I also wonder what will happen to Arlington (VA). Arlington was an example of “what priest shortage” from 1985 to 1999. I hope and pray for a return to a “vocation boom” in Arlington later this year when the current ordinary turns 75. I am thinking of sending a letter to the Papal Nuncio with a few names to consider - I have not done that before.
Our Church needs more shepherds like these bishops mentioned above. When the authenticity and the “walking the walk” is there, men will rise.
