Pastor's Corner, May 17, 2015

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

There is good news about vocations to the priesthood. According to a recent survey by Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research, the number of anticipated new priests in 2015 will be 595: a potential 25% jump over last year’s priestly ordinations and confirmation that the trend shows new ordinations have been rising overall since 2005.

Interestingly the study found that regular prayer and devotion to the Eucharist were key aspects of most men before they entered seminary: 70% had regularly prayed the Rosary, and 70% joined in Eucharistic adoration before they entered the seminary.

This good news does not reach replacement levels, however. Even though the Catholic population in the US continues to grow, the number of active priests continues to drop an average 1% per year due to priests hitting retirement age.

Yesterday, two young men were ordained to the diaconate for the Diocese of Allentown. On the first Saturday of June Deacon Laroche and his classmate will be ordained to the priesthood. Please pray for more vocations to the priesthood.

In Christ,

Msgr. Baker