In addition to the Resource Kit and DVD released earlier this year, Catholic Vocations has also developed a new set of brochures on each of the Christian vocations - Single Life, Marriage, Consecrated Life for men and women, and Priesthood.

Luke and Gen Burton’s Vocation Story

In the year 2000 Luke and Gen both separately chose to join Cardinal Pell and the youth of our areas to travel on Pilgrimage through the Holy Land and then onto Rome for World Youth Day. Luke, the 3rd of 9 children from NSW, had been working as a Baker for the four years prior to this trip and was contemplating a career that would be more conducive to family life further down the track.

We asked the parents of some priests and seminarians how they felt to have their son decide to become a priest and what impact it has had on their family and life….

Michael Gallacher's Vocation Story

Michael Gallacher is in his third year at the seminary for the Archdiocese of Melbourne, Corpus Christi College in Carlton. We asked him what led him there and what life is like in the seminary…

I took many steps over a five-year period before entering the seminary. The first thought about a vocation to the priesthood came when I was in Year 11 at Whitefriars College in Donvale. One day at school, one of the Carmelite Brothers joked with me and a friend about recruiting us to the priesthood. When he said it there was a little flutter of excitement in my heart, which I tried to ignore. At that stage, I was not going to Mass on Sundays. I believed in God, but only as a far-off person who I didn't think about much. Besides which, I had my life very well planned. I had a clear idea of the career I want to pursue and still had many goals to achieve in sport. So, I ignored the stir of excitement at the Carmelites’ joke and I carried on.

Sister Mary Joseph csfn

The story of Sister Joseph’s vocation started at home. Her parents worked hard to make sure that their three children had a good start to life. Above all, they passed to their children faith in God and sensitivity towards those less fortunate. The Bible had an eminent place in their house. Sister Joseph often saw her father blessing himself with the sign of the cross, kissing with reverence the Holy Scripture and spending time reading and meditating on the Word of God. Her mother was a story teller - before she died, she would often be ironing the clothes and telling her older daughter stories about the Nativity or the lives of the saints. Her favourites were Mary and Joseph. Later in life what struck Sister Joseph was that her parents lived what they were teaching their children, and that spoke to her more than any preaching.

Fr Peter Ferwerda's Vocation Story

The thought of the priesthood came to Peter in his teen years, but he pushed it aside because of a desire for marriage. The desire to become a doctor also competed with this thought that God had put into his mind. He went to university and after completing his degree sought advice on becoming a priest, but those competing interests remained.

Br Vincent Magat, op

The beginnings of Br. Vincent’s vocation story are quite intriguing. As a young boy, he was first attracted to the priesthood because he believed that priests did nothing besides one or two masses on Sunday and nonetheless received respect and admiration from young and old alike! With age however, he began to realize not only how much priests actually do and accomplish, but that any respect they receive is well deserved.

Fr Andrew Keswick's Vocations Story Andrew was just a young boy when he first felt a call to the priesthood. He saw that the priest was the instrument through which the gift of the Eucharist is brought before us. The privilege of being a man through whom God acts in this most special way made a deep impression on his heart. This, along with the fact that the priest has a very special connection with the people to whom he ministered made Andrew want to share in this twofold relationship with God and his people. It was not long after that that Andrew expressed his desire to become a priest. He was only a young boy at the time. But the call and the desire were strong.