Significant increase in vocations and ordinations in England and Wales

As we prepare to celebrate Vocations Sunday and the 50th annual day of prayer for vocations tomorrow (April 21st, 2013), figures released in the past few days record a significant increase in entrants to religious life in England and Wales. The statistics also note that ordinations to the priesthood are at a ten year high.

The analysis of these welcome and surprising data demonstrates that the number of men and women entering religious life in our neighbouring countries show an increase for the third year running. Ordinations to diocesan priesthood projected for 2013 will be almost double that of 2011 (20 ordained in 2011 and 41 expected ordinations in 2013).

If these numbers of new entrants to religious life and the ordinations are a barometer of the health of the Catholic church in England and Wales, then it would appear to be in a very good state indeed.

You might ask about statistics for entrants and ordinations in Ireland. The sad fact is that there are no numbers available. For the numbers of entrants to the national seminary in Maynooth, we have to rely on unreliable figures from the seminary itself. If we need any data regarding the numbers entering religious life over the past few year, there are no statistics that can be published because religious orders tend not to furnish the most basic information to Vocations Ireland - the organisation responsible for promoting vocations to religious life in Ireland. We clearly need to creep out of the dark ages and become professional in our approach to this.

Statistics for entrants to religious orders in England and Wales:  http://ukvocation.org/files/PDFs/religiousstats.pdf

Data for entrances to seminaries in England and Wales: http://ukvocation.org/files/PDFs/seminaryentrants.pdf.pdf

Numbers of ordinations in England and Wales: http://ukvocation.org/files/PDFs/diocesan_ordinations.pdf.pdf

Vocations on the rise in England and Wales

With the sudued reaction to the significant decrease in vocations to the national seminary in Maynooth this year, it is worth noting that our neighbours in England and Wales are experiencing a reasonably dramatic increase in vocations.

It is expected that 38 men will be ordained to the priesthood in England and Wales in 2013 - alomost double the number ordained in 2011. A recent report in England's Catholic Herald reported these projections, noting that the number of seminarians  for the diocese of Southwark alone (26) has more than doubled since 2005, when it only had 10.

The Southwark vocations website states that a 'campaign of prayer has coincided with a dramatic increase in the number of men coming forward as potential candidates for the priesthood. That same archdiocese appointed a full-time vocations director earlier this year. This was the first time in 30 years that this had happened.

Irish dioceses might like to take note! 

Vocations on the front page!

 Christopher Jamison OSB

The Irish Catholic (Ireland's largest Catholic newspaper) carried a front page story on vocations in its most recent issue entitled: "Church vocations: from recruitment to discernment." The story concerns the head of the office for vocations for England and Wales Fr Christopher Jamison OSB and his assertion that vocations strategy has a new byword for him 'from recruitment to discernment'.

Fr Jamison states that "We've shifted from asking 'would you like to become a priest?' to asking 'what kind of person would you like to be and what would you like to do in life?'" and goes on to say that "If you approach a person from 'Generation Y' with the question 'would you like to be a priest?' they see this as an attack on their freedom." He says that this new approach has led to the creation of a number of succesful mixed 'discernment groups' across England which has a powerful impact because the participants see it as a discernemnt exercise rather than a recruitment exercise.

Fr Christopher also talks about vocations directors saying "A vocations director and promoter are two different roles. A director must have time to concentrate on those who are already discerning their vocation, a promoter must seek to create a culture of vocations."

Clearly Fr Jamison has had a big impact since his appointment as director for the National Office for vocations in England and Wales in October 2010. Vocations are on the rise across England and Wales - attributable to, among other things, 'a formal policy of the church to create a culture of vocations.'

There is no doubt that the discernment groups that he refers to are succesful. Ireland is just catching up at this point with a pilot project Explore Away initiated by Vocations Ireland. I do, however, have some hesitations around such groups. The discerning method employed can not do justice to all types of vocations and something is lost in that. The understanding of religious life can be obscured because it is lived very differently by the many orders and congregations. And I also believe that the mixed discernment groups has the possibility of allowing congregations and orders off the hook in the promotion and discernment of their own unique vocations. I would also advocate that we not drop the asking of the question to the young and not so young that we know 'would you consider being a priest, nun, brother?' I am amazed still at the high proportion of people that I meet whose first contact can be precisely because that question was asked to them directly. It is not to be underestimated!

Fr Jamison makes a very important point about vocations directors. However, because vocations directors in Ireland have little or no training, they often fall into the trap of being recruiters alone - and the process of discernment, which is crucial, can become obscured or lost. I have long been an advocate for full time vocations directors - irrespective of the cost to the religious orders and congregations. Only when this is possible will the distinctions about the role of vocations directors that Fr Jamison rightly asserts become less of a problem.

Vocations in England and Wales are on the increase....

Some good news emerged last week from the annual conference of diocesan vocations directors of England and Wales with the news that September 2010 saw the numbers entering English seminaries to become Catholic priests at their highest level in a decade.
 
56 men began the journey towards priesthood this year.  “The number of people responding to the call of Christ to be priests and religious has been rising slowly but surely,” said Fr Stephen Lanrgidge, Chairman of the Vocations Directors of England and Wales, “and may rise further as people respond to the visit of Pope Benedict.”

At their annual conference held last week at Oscott seminary in Birmingham, the Vocations Directors discussed the approaches to vocations work that have contributed to this increase.  Many dioceses and religious orders now run discernment groups for young men and women where all vocations are discussed.  Such groups encourage lay, religious and priestly vocations.


Fr Christopher Jamison OSB, Director of the National Office of Vocation, commented, “When everybody in the Church takes seriously Newman’s insight that ‘God has created me to do him some definite service,’ then a greater number discover their call to the priesthood and religious life.”

Vocations directors also discussed new ways to promote this culture of vocation.  Invocation was a festival held in Birmingham in July 2010 for Catholics aged 16-35 who are discerning their vocation and some 300 young people attended.  This was so popular that it is being held again next year from June 17 to 19.
Schools are now being provided with high quality on-line materials and youth ministers are developing new approaches to bringing the gospel to life for the young. 

Attending events such as World Youth Day is an important experience that opens the eyes of many people to the richness of life in the Church and plans for English and Welsh participation are well developed.