Practical Ideas for Parishes

PRAYER

Holy Hours for Vocations. Have a special Holy Hour to pray for priestly and religious vocations. More information is available here.
Rosary for Vocations. During the rosary mention candidates by name. Vocations Rosary – Luminous Mysteries
Vocation Prayer distribution. Vocation prayer card given to parishioners on World Day of Prayer for Vocations or during National Vocation Awareness Week.

Workshops for Altar Servers. Teach altar servers about vocational discernment.
Parish Discernment Groups. Small groups of boys or girls led by parish priest or sister, with help from parents, to help them understand vocations. Consider the Melchizedek Project, which provides free resources for discernment groups.
Attend ordinations. Coordinate for confirmation students or youth groups to attend an ordination
Traveling Crucifix or Chalice. In this popular program, a crucifix or chalice is brought home by a different family each week. It is kept in a special place by the family, who prays each day for more vocations.
Start a Vocations Ministry at your parish. Lean how at vocationministry.com

Vocations library. Keep a special corner of the vestibule stocked with vocation-related materials.
Poster/coloring/ essay/video contests. Organize a contest with a vocations theme for students.
Vocation stories. Invite priests to tell their vocation stories at parish events.
Web page. Create a page on your parish website with vocation information.

Celebrate ordination anniversaries. Honor parish priests and celebrate within the parish and school.
Support our seminarians. Send greeting cards to each seminarian at the beginning of a new semester, holidays, exam times, birthdays, ordinations, etc.
Director of Vocations. Invite the Director of Vocations to the parish for a weekend, for Mass and a meal with parish families. Contact the Office of Vocations for availability.