WYD08 sparks vocations upsurge in Sydney

World Youth Day in Sydney two years ago is being hailed for spurring a renew interest in the priesthood and religious life in Australia.

The Archdiocese of Sydney has said that in the wake of youth event, seminaries and vocations to religious life are recording a steady increase in candidates, following a trend observed in other archdioceses that have hosted World Youth Day.  Six men will be ordained as priests in Sydney this June by the Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney.  This is the largest number of men ordained into the Archdiocese since 1988.

Two Uganda-born men who studied at the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush, will be ordained in their home country but will return to serve in Australian parishes.  Meanwhile, ten men were accepted as candidates for the priesthood this year by the Seminary of the Good Shepherd and have begun their first year of study.

According to the seminary rector Fr Anthony Percy, "There is no doubt there has been an upsurge in interest in a priestly vocation."

A spokesperson for the archdiocese of Sydney said, “While Australia has been battling against a shortage of priests since the late 1980s, it now looks as if interest in the priesthood and men seeking priestly vocations is once more on the rise.”

Fr Percy attributed the trend to World Youth Day 2008 but also to past World Youth Day events and to the Year for Priests, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI in June 2009.

According to Fr Percy, "Today many young people are seeking deeper meaning to their lives and not just looking for a career but for a vocation which can answer the big questions of life.  In this post modern culture there are no values, no standards and no foundations on which to build minds.  But young people really want these things and in a world of dysfunctional families and society generally, they are looking to the Church for stability."

An innovative programme which attracts over 700 people to P.J. Gallagher’s Irish Pub in Parramatta on the first Monday of each month has also been praised for its role in creating a popular and credible setting in which young Catholics can come together to discuss their faith. 

The Theology on Tap programme invites young men and women to socialise and hear speakers on theology, faith, the Church and life in general.

by Sarah Mac Donald