Archbishop Vigneron has announced a “Year of Prayer for Priestly Vocations” for the archdiocese beginning on Pentecost of this year, June 5. This year of prayer is a response to the fact that for the first time in at least 70 years there will be no priestly ordination in the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2022.
In the past 10 years, the Archdiocese of Detroit has ordained 42 men to the priesthood, while during that same time, 125 men who were retired or serving the archdiocese have died.
It takes 6-8 years to form a man to be ready for the priesthood. Currently there are 22 men at the seminary preparing for priesthood in the Archdiocese, with the expectation that there will be 5 ordinations in 2023.
This pretty much mirrors what the Franciscans are experiencing. For the 6 provinces in the United States that will merge in October of 2023, there are 6 postulants, 4 novices, and 13 temporary professed. Some of these men will discern that they are not called; some will be ordained as priests; some will be Brothers, like Br. Ed, Br. Phil, and Br. Eric. The number of those coming in does not come near the number of friars who have died in the last few years.
So please do pray for vocations to the Archdiocese, but also that Franciscans! (We will be using a special prayer to end the General Intercessions at our weekend masses for this cause.) But more than pray, encourage someone who you think might have a vocation to the priesthood or religious life; if you are a young man, why not consider this way of life? Any of the friars would be happy to talk with you!