Catholic dioceses in England and Wales have intensified their appeals for priestly vocations, as bishops respond to uneven ordination numbers with fresh campaigns, pastoral letters and calls to prayer. The picture that emerges is mixed: while several dioceses will see no ordinations this year, others report rising numbers in seminary and speak of a renewed seriousness about vocational discernment.
In Cardiff-Menevia, Archbishop Mark O’Toole used Good Shepherd Sunday to urge unmarried men across the archdiocese to ask whether God might be calling them to the priesthood. “Without the priesthood there is no Mass, no sacraments,” he wrote, insisting that priestly vocations are not a specialist concern but “everybody’s business”. At present, only one man is training for the priesthood in the Welsh archdiocese.
Elsewhere, bishops have adopted more direct methods. In Nottingham, Bishop Patrick McKinney has launched a “Called by Name” initiative inviting Catholics to submit the names of men aged 18 and over whom they believe may have the qualities needed for priesthood. Those nominated are to receive a personal letter from the bishop, an invitation to meet him, and accompaniment from the diocesan vocations director. The diocese currently has two seminarians, with another two expected to begin formation in September.
The concern behind such initiatives is easy enough to see. According to The Tablet, no seminarians are being ordained this year for a number of dioceses, including Arundel & Brighton, Clifton, Hexham & Newcastle, Nottingham, Middlesbrough, Plymouth, Southwark, Salford, Westminster and Wrexham. Southwark has attributed its present gap in ordinations in part to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which it says interrupted the ordinary process of discernment both locally and worldwide. Even so, the archdiocese says it now has its highest number of seminarians in 12 years, with nine already in formation, two more having entered this year, and a further eight being considered for next year.
Some dioceses will ordain new priests this summer. Birmingham is due to ordain three, East Anglia three, Shrewsbury two, and Portsmouth and Northampton one each. Westminster reports 20 men in priestly formation, while Shrewsbury has 12 seminarians and speaks of a “constant stream” of men coming forward for discernment. Bishop Mark Davies has attributed that relative strength in part to sustained prayer, including daily intercession at the diocesan shrine of Eucharistic Adoration in Stockport.
Across the wider seminary landscape, the numbers suggest a Church still capable of producing vocations, though not evenly and not without strain. Allen Hall Seminary in London has 59 men in priestly formation, including diocesan students, members of Religious communities and seminarians of the Neocatechumenal Way. St Mary’s College, Oscott, has 23 seminarians in formation and is expecting six ordinations this summer, though not all are yet confirmed. The Venerable English College in Rome has 18 seminarians, two of whom are due to be ordained this year, while the Beda College reports 30 men in formation and 10 deacons on the path to priestly ordination from this summer onwards.
The overall picture is therefore neither one of simple decline nor of easy revival. Some dioceses remain heavily stretched, and in several places there will again be no new priests this year. Yet bishops are plainly unwilling to accept vocational weakness as inevitable. Their response has been to return to older Catholic instincts: prayer, personal invitation, public preaching and the conviction that vocations flourish when the faithful are willing to ask for them.
