Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis To Ordain 15 To The Priesthood

H/T to the Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club for this bit of good news: the Archiocese of St. Minnesota and St. Paul will ordain 15 priests on May 28.

The story itself is from the past December, but it's still news to me and worth repeating now. Amidst the horrific stories we so often read about the state of the Church in America the last few years, it is tonic for the soul to see news like this.

According to the archdiocese vocations director, Fr. Thomas Wilson, it is the largest number of men ordained in the archdiocese since the 1960s (when bottom began falling out of vocations across the nation). 

Does Fr. Wilson credit this increase in vocations to messages young men "can relate to," or making the Church "more relevant to the times"?

No. He says the increase in vocations stems from three actions taken under Archbishop Harry Flynn:

1) Regular prayer for vocations has become an integral part of prayer life at many parishes throughout the archdiocese.

2) The increase in the number of perpetual eucharistic adoration chapels in the archdiocese has coniceded with the increase in vocations.

3) The Archbishop devotes a lot of his time on behalf of vocations and encouragng young me to consider if they are being called.

It ain't rocket science, and didn't require watering down Church doctrine or discipline. As amazing as it might seem to our graying Church liberals, if the Catholic Church is proudly Catholic, the faithful will respond.

Comments

Most of the St. Paul bishops are frustrated that many of these priests have a "traditional" background and have been putting many of them in non-pastoral positions. Unfortunately that is backfiring as older priests are rretiring and they're finding a need to fill those positions with these younger priests.
Another reason is a trend that has been occuring recently: Conservative dioceses are showing an increase in vocations.
It almost amkes me want to live with my aunt adn uncle in St. Paul

[Kevin]

The archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis is not a "traditional" or "conservative" diocese per se. There are plenty of liberal churches around and a few with a "traditional background" including St. Agnes Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN. http://www.stagnes.net/church/Main.do

St. Agnes has produced a number of priests over the years with more in the pipeline.

[Jay]

As Kevin has noted, the archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis is not a "traditional" or "conservative" diocese. If anything, Archbishop Flynn is a weak, politician-style bishop who wants to get along with everyone (everyone on the liberal side, that is), and has allowed serious abuses in the diocese to go unchecked. That he has encouraged vocations is not disputed, however, I think that reasons number one and two should not be underestimated, as certainly the example set by Flynn himself is hardly edifying.
By the way, Holy Family parish in St. Louis Park is also producing vocations. Not surprisingly, St. Agnes and Holy Family are both orthodox, faithful to the Magisterium.