Dateline : Diocese of Lafayette Louisiana - 20 Parishes of 121 Account For All Seminarians

Thisis some food for thought and shows that perhaps the Vocation Crisis is self inflicted to a great degree. Are we doing our part? What does the lack of Vocations from a parish indicate as to the spiritual life of a Parish as a whole. I suspect we see such a dynamic nationwide.

From this link:

by Fr. Kevin BordelonComments ()




As we approach a new academic year, we naturally consider this question. As of the time of this writing (8/2/12), Bishop Jarrell has accepted 10 new seminarians to begin priestly formation for our diocese. Four of the new seminarians—Brent Smith, Andrew Schumacher, Kyle White, and Benjamin Frederick—are sponsored by Our Lady of Wisdom in Lafayette. The remaining six men and their sponsoring parishes follow:



Benjamin Pitre (St. Landry, Opelousas)

Joey Nelson (Our Lady of Perpetual Help, New Iberia)

Stephen Pellessier (St. Mary, Lafayette)

Elliot Robichaux (Our Lady of the Lake, Delcambre)

Dennis Boudreux (St. Theresa, Abbeville)

Andrew Killeen (St. Pius X, Lafayette)



Further statistics: not counting the two seminarians studying for the Community of Jesus Crucified, we have a total of 37 men in formation. Twenty parishes account for those 37 men. That means 20 of our 121 parishes have someone in the seminary. Put another way, only 16.5% of our parishes have a seminarian. 101 parishes have potential then to produce a vocation. 83.5% of our parishes are ripe for the harvest of a priestly vocation! The potential for growth is tremendous.

I might also add that four parishes—Wisdom (8), Pius X (5), Cathedral (3), and St. Mary’s (3)—account for 19 seminarians or 51.3% of our total number.

We continue to thank God for calling forth good men to consider the priestly vocation and we continue to pray that a vocations- friendly culture be pursued and promoted in every parish and in every Catholic home.