For Father Wyman Vintson, director of vocations for the diocese of Birmingham, the increase in seminarians is an indication of the growth of the Church.

Washington – United States (20/08/2023 18:00, Gaudium Press) Following a worldwide trend, the number of seminarians in the United States has been falling in recent years. In 1970, around 6,400 men attended seminaries in the country. Today, the Catholic Church in the country has only 2,759 seminarians. But in some dioceses this process is reversing.

The Secret of Vocational Growth

Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, located in the Diocese of Minneapolis, is having its largest seminarian intake in the last five years. In an interview with CNA, Father Joe Taphorn, the rector of the seminary, said that they are almost at capacity and that this year they will probably reach 100 seminarians.

Regarding his ‘secret’, the rector revealed that “if we offer a good formation, prepare our men well and project a positive vision, this will attract young people. There continues to be interest and vocational visits from young people who want to learn more”.

An Indication of The Church’s Growth

‘One Voice’, the official magazine of the, announced in July that, “for the first time in diocesan history, there will be 19 men in studies and formation in three different seminaries”. For Father Wyman Vintson, the diocese’s director of vocations, the increase in seminarians is “an indication of the growth of the Church”.

Deacon Steve Kramer, director of humanities and associate professor of pastoral studies at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology in Milwaukee, said he has seen an increase in enrollment in recent years. “I think during the pandemic a lot of people had time to think and the Holy Spirit spoke to them”

Careful Selection and Training of Priests

In the opinion of Father Carter Griffin, rector of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., these good numbers in some dioceses “are the cumulative effect of many years of careful selection and formation of priests. We have to think long term. There needs to be healthy priests in the parishes”.

“The most successful promoters of the priesthood are priests who are happy and faithful in their parishes. Obtaining vocations from zero to 60 takes 20 years, not two. It’s about building an authentic culture of vocations,” he stressed. The priest also suggested that the general decline is probably due to a number of factors, including “demoralization in the priesthood”, as well as “poor doctrinal formation and loss of focus and strength in the face of aggressive secularization”. (EPC)

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Compiled by Florence MacDonald