Rev Paul Grogan
Diocesan Priestly Vocations Director
Trinity And All Saints College
Brownberrie Lane
Leeds
LS18 5HD
Tel 0113 283 7199
Email dolvocs@aol.com
Welcome to the Diocese of Leeds Priestly Vocations website.
This year, which Pope Benedict has proclaimed a Year for Priests, marking as it does the 150th anniversary of the death of St John Mary Vianney, offers us all an opportunity to gaze upon the beauty of the priesthood, which is a precious gift of God to his Church. The gift is embodied in individual men, marked by sin, but striving for holiness, men whom we all know. Their dedicated lifelong service of God's people gives particular cre
dibility to the Church's mission of evangelisation. They testify to the fact that the gospel is worth giving everything for.
This year is a graced time for discernment. A young man who detects within himself the stirrings of a desire to be a priest has invariably been moved by the example of a particular priest or priests whom he feels called to emulate. The Holy Spirit is at work within each generation of young men, giving them courage, communicating to them a supernatural understanding of God's purposes, inviting some of them, for reasons known only to God, to embrace the challenge of discipleship in a particular way: namely, to dare to stand in the person of Christ and minister to his people and give God glory.
In his Pastoral Letter to mark the beginning of this Year, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart in June, Bishop Roche expressed the desire that the example of our priests "may inspire others in our diocese to offer themselves for priestly service amongst us." He went on to describe how essential is the contribution of the priest to the life of the Church: "At the ordination of a priest, the bishop reminds those who are present that priests are chosen to renew the sacrifice of our redemption, in the name of Christ. They are to lead God's holy people in charity, nourish them with His word, refresh them with the sacraments, and strive to be conformed to the image of Christ as they give up their lives for God and for the salvation of their brothers and sisters. This daunting responsibility is given to mere men, chosen from among us, to act on our behalf in our relations with God. It is a high calling and one that needs the constant support and the prayers of the whole Church."
If you feel that God may be calling you to be a priest, get in touch! Why allow the opportunity to embark on an adventurous journey of self-discovery to pass you by? We all need support in thinking things through. Trust in God and send off the email straightaway!
Rev Paul Grogan
Vocations Director, on behalf of the Diocesan Team for Promoting Priestly Vocations
Students at Ushaw College are to launch a podcast later this month aimed at those discerning ordained ministry in the Catholic Church. It will be a professional 30-minute broadcast every month and will include interviews, vocation stories, music, news and much more.
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Men who are called to the priesthood today are being invited to follow in the footsteps of the martyrs, Bishop Ambrose Griffiths, the Bishop Emeritus of Hexham and Newcastle, told seminarians at the Mass to mark the Feast of Douai Martyrs at St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw recently.
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Latest statistics show that there has been a modest increase in the number of men entering seminary from dioceses in England and Wales.
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The social teaching of the Church is drawn from a prayerful reflection on the life of the Blessed Trinity, Mgr Peter Rosser (pictured) told prospective seminarians at the latest meeting of the discernment group.
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A minibus was required to take the latest group of enquirers from Leeds Diocese to last month's discernment weekend at Ushaw College.
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Girls at St Joseph's Catholic College in Bradford were invited to consider how they wanted to spend the rest of their lives in a presentation by Sister Anne Hammersley, cp, shown with some of the students afterwards in the picture.
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