Bishop Earl Fernandes, bishop of the US Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, said that 16 men entered the seminary last year, adding that the diocese has recorded an in-crease in the number of Catholics.
The diocese expects almost a dozen more young men to enter the seminary this year as well, he noted, attributing the rise in numbers to prayer and renewed pastoral outreach efforts.
“We chose young priests to meet once a month with young men in the area, and they discern their vocation to the diocesan priesthood or religious life, as well as read Fr. Brett Brannan’s book “To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Voca-tion to Diocesan Priesthood,” said Bishop Fernandes.
As part of the vocations drive, the Diocese of Columbus has also organized retreats called “Quo vadis?” for high school students. “The young people spend three days in prayer, listening to testi-monies, talking to priests who understand what priestly forma-tion is but also enjoy fraternity to see that it involves more than just prayer, study, and work. This has also been very fruitful,” said Bishop Fernandes.
He also highlighted the importance of prayer on the part of lay faithful, as well as women and men religious, in the diocese. “We constantly urge people to pray and fast in the intentions of vocations,” he said.