Vocation Directors Near You
Find a Diocesan Vocation Director
A Vocation Director can provide insightful, honest, and compassionate answers as you consider the priesthood. They will help guide you on your journey of discernment of a priestly calling.
Best Practices for Vocation Directors
Parish Visitations
It is highly advantageous to visit as many parishes as possible within the diocese or within one’s province in order to be a source of catechesis and evangelization for the parish. One can preach or speak at all the Masses on the importance of vocations, both the priesthood and the consecrated life, within the life of the Church. Visitations are also opportunities to be available to the young people of the parish, by speaking to the youth group, answering their questions, sharing one’s own vocation story, and/or showing videos that highlight the consecrated life or priesthood. Furthermore, parish visitations are opportunities to enable parishioners to promote vocations through parish vocation enrichment teams.
School Visitations
The Vocation Director should take every opportunity which arises to speak to the “young Church” about vocations. He or she should encourage the young priests and consecrated persons in the vicinity of the school to make frequent visits. Seminarians or religious in formation can also visit students and share their own vocation stories, elicit questions, and explain the priesthood and consecrated life to young people.
Come and See Weekends
Vocation Directors should provide opportunities that allow young people to spend a weekend at a seminary or religious house/convent. This visit allows the discerner to see many seminarians studying for the priesthood or religious preparing for religious consecration and meet with a spiritual director. This type of interaction has proven to be very helpful for vocational discernment.
Helpful Links
- Forms of Consecrated Life in the Church
- National Religious Vocation Conference
- DiocesanPriest.com
- National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Directors
- Serra International (organization dedicated to encouraging vocations in local parishes)