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The typical member of the ordination class of 2012 is a 31-year cradle Catholic who prayed the Rosary and took part in Eucharistic adoration before entering seminary, according to a survey of 304 of the 487 men slated to be ordained to the priesthood in the United States this year. The survey was conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate.
Among the survey’s findings:
the median age of ordinands is 31; the mean age, 35
the typical diocesan ordinand lived in his diocese for 16 years before entering seminary, though 12% had lived in their diocese for less than a year
71% of ordinands are white, 15% are Latino, 9% are Asian, and 3% are black
6% are converts
37% have a relative who was a priest or religious
in 84% of cases, both parents were Catholic
47% attended a Catholic elementary school, and 45% attended a Catholic college; 3% were home schooled
6% have served in the US Armed Forces; 21% had a parent who spent his career in the military
68% regularly prayed the Rosary, and 65% participated in Eucharistic adoration, before entering the seminary
ordinands typically first began to consider the priesthood at 17
68% were encouraged by a priest to consider a vocation; 41% were encouraged by their mother, and 31% by their father
29% are foreign born, with the most typical foreign countries of birth being Vietnam (5% of all ordinands), Colombia (5%), Mexico (4%), Poland (3%), and the Philippines (2%); on average, foreign-born seminarians have lived in the United States for 12 years and arrived in the US at age 22
28% have five or more siblings, 10% have four siblings, 17% have three siblings, 25% have two siblings, 16% have one sibling, and 4% have no siblings
45% had earned their undergraduate degree before entering seminary; an additional 16% had earned a graduate degree
53% took part in a parish youth group
22% took part in a World Youth Day, and 11% took part in a Franciscan University of Steubenville summer conference
75% had served as altar servers, and 57% as readers, before entering seminary
A moving story of motherhood and bravery.
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On two occasions of my life, I stayed awake all night long. One was a case of food poisoning in Peru. The other was Mother’s Day 1970. I tried to fall asleep, but to no avail. For the first time in my life—on learning how close I had come to not seeing the light of day—I fully realized what a precious gift life is.
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Well, here's a story you don't see every day.
Grant Desme, a 23-year-old minor league outfielder in Oakland's system, is retiring from baseball to follow a calling into the Catholic priesthood.
The story was first reported by Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi — perhaps appropriately with that first name of his — and this isn't a case of a struggling player going through an early-life crisis. Desme was ranked the A's eighth-best prospect by Baseball America after hitting .288 with 31 home runs and 89 RBIs in A ball in 2009 and he was just named MVP of the Arizona Fall League.
Desme might have even been a late-season callup to the big league club in 2010. Our Y! Sports 2010 fantasy guide has him ranked the 40th-best minor-league prospect for near-term fantasy purpose.
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Pope Benedict XVI has a message for priests of the Catholic Church: they must proclaim the gospel by not only having a website, but by blogging and utilizing new web communication tools.
A wonderful story from a young priest, very worthwhile reading, particularly in this year of the priest.
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A week after returning home and some visits to M.D. Anderson, my 22-year-old sister Erika was able to get around somewhat slowly. She had cancer in various places in her body, and this aggressive kind of ovarian cancer was almost unheard of for a young lady. The doctors were baffled at the various cancer manifestations, and they were unable to give a good diagnosis, much less prognosis. Despite all this, Erika was able to be one of the readers at the ordination Mass on June 23. As I looked upon my little sister as she read from the prophet Jeremiah, all I could feel was deep fear and grief, believing that hers would be the first funeral I would have to do as a priest.
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It was then that I felt the profound reality of the gift God had given me, that is, the Gift of ordained priesthood. I realized, then, that my primary family was no longer limited to my parents and sister. What I had learned in my intellect was now a deeply real and essential part of my heart. I realized in that moment that I was now a very real and intimate part of a larger spiritual family. My bride, now, was the Bride of Christ; the Bride of Christ is the Church. Although I wished to stay with Erika, the girl I warmed baby bottles for when she was in diapers, my bride was now calling me in the form of an elderly Catholic nun who was about to go into a potentially fatal surgery. During the few minutes of sacramental time with the beautiful nun, I heard other voices from other people in the background: "Father! Father! Father!" I was hopping from here to there, and I was sad that there are not more priests. And so began my life as an ordained priest of God.
Older men becoming priests
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Paul Sullins, a professor at the Catholic University of America, said the average age at ordination has risen by 10 to 15 years since the 1970s — part of a national trend toward increased education and later-life commitments.
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“An increasing proportion of priests today are entering their second or third careers,” said Sullins, adding the trend may help relieve the shortage of priests in the U.S.
Monsignor Paul Showalter, vicar general of the Peoria Diocese, agreed. Showalter said, in general, the trend toward older priests is beneficial. - 3 more annotation(s)...
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