Young men considering religious life in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will have opportunities to learn more about it from the archdiocese’s two bishops.
A retreat for high school juniors through age 24 who do not yet have a college degree is planned with Archbishop Bernard Hebda Oct. 28-30 at Christ the King Retreat Center in Buffalo. They will find “great food, great fellowship,” said Father David Blume, director of the archdiocese’s Office of Vocations.
Father David Blume
“It’s an opportunity to get to know the archbishop a little and to take in a lot of good knowledge … good information about priesthood, about being in the seminary, about discerning your vocation,” Father Blume said.
Discernment day with Bishop Joseph Williams for men with a college degree takes place the same weekend. The one-day gathering is expected to run from around 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the men taking in “a whole lot of good information and helpful suggestions on discerning your vocation,” Father Blume said.
“In our archdiocese, we’re really blessed that our bishops have a very strong interest in promoting vocations,” Father Blume said.
Father Blume recently spoke with “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley about opportunities for young men to check out religious life.
The St. John Vianney Seminary in St. Paul offers “the Vianney visit” to high school students twice a year, including this fall, for high school juniors and seniors, and next spring, for sophomores, juniors and seniors. The young men stay at the seminary from Thursday through Saturday morning, getting up for 6:30 a.m. holy hour, then class, lunch with seminarians and time to visit, Father Blume said.
“One of the biggest takeaways is that the men at the seminary are just regular guys,” Father Blume said. “So they take away that impression that ‘these guys are just like me, maybe I could be a seminarian.’”
Father Blume said he encourages listeners to pray “for that young man who’s sitting on the fence not making a vocational decision.” Trying to keep all options open is common, he said. “So we need the Holy Spirit to give them a nudge in one direction or the other.”
To learn more about upcoming events and what’s involved in discerning a call to the priesthood or other religious life, visit 10000 vocations.org. To learn why the vocations website address uses “10,000” (hint: it’s a Minnesota reference) — and to hear the full interview, listen to the “Practicing Catholic” show on Relevant Radio 1330 AM at 9 p.m. Oct. 7. The show also repeats 1 p.m. Oct. 8 and 2 p.m. Oct. 9.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Jeremy Stanbary, who previews Open Window Theatre’s new season; and Fathers Robert Kennedy and Tony O’Neill, who discuss the seven fundamental themes of Catholic social teaching.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired at:
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