CARA Report shows that 14 percent of those ordained this year attended at least one conference
STEUBENVILLE, OH – A new report from the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) offers information that highlights Franciscan University of Steubenville’s positive influence on priestly vocations in the United States.
The CARA Report, “The Class of 2014: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood,” notes that 14 percent of those ordained this year had attended at least one Franciscan University Summer Youth Conference before entering seminary.
That figure has risen steadily with each CARA survey, and is a noticeable increase from the 2010 report, when 8 percent of ordinands reported they once attended a Franciscan University Summer Youth Conference. The figure includes men entering the priesthood within a diocese or a religious order.
“We are grateful that our Youth Conferences motivate so many young men to consider the priesthood,” said Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR, president of Franciscan University of Steubenville. “The conferences powerfully speak the truth of God’s love and show forth the beauty of the Church, sparking a generous and courageous response to the Lord’s call.”
A 2013 study released by CARA in January of this year revealed that 7 percent of women who professed perpetual vows in religious life in the U.S. had also attended a youth conference in the past.
This summer, Franciscan University will sponsor 20 youth conferences in 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces, and are expected to reach 45,000 youth. Each conference features dynamic Catholic speakers, daily Mass, confession, and Eucharistic adoration.
A vocations call at the end of the weekend invites young men and women who are open to discerning priesthood or religious life to come forward for a special blessing. Franciscan University estimates that more than 4,000 teens respond to the vocations call each year.
The survey, prepared for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops by CARA, based at Georgetown University, included responses from 365 ordinands.
The survey also asked ordinands about their religious background, education, previous ministry, and work experience, encouragement and discouragement to consider the priesthood, and other influences on their vocational decision. The Franciscan University Youth Conferences were cited in the section on participation in Church-sponsored youth ministry programs.
