National Vocation awareness - Nov. 1-7, 2026
Promote vocations through prayer, invitation, and education.
National Vocation Awareness Week is an annual week-long celebration of the Catholic Church in the United States dedicated to promote vocations to ordained ministry and consecrated life through prayer, invitation, and education, and to renew our prayers and support for those who are considering these vocations.
CICM is one with the Catholic Church in the United States in promoting vocations to single-blessedness, married life, priesthood and religious life. We pray that the master of the vineyard will send more laborers to mission work.
Best ways to promote vocation in the parish
This report presents findings from a national survey of seminarians scheduled for ordination to the priesthood in 2026. The report is a part of a collaboration between the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations and the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). The purpose of this report is to compile information regarding men who are ordained to the priesthood in the United States, within a particular year.
From this report, you can see best ways to promote vocation in the parish:
Type of Priesthood
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Four in five responding ordinands (81%) are preparing for ordination to a diocese or eparchy. Responding ordinands in religious institutes comprise 19%. The largest group of responding ordinands (35%) is completing studies at one of the seminaries in the Midwest. Relatively few (5%) are completing studies at a seminary abroad.
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On average, responding diocesan ordinands lived in the diocese or eparchy for which they will be ordained for 16 years before they entered the seminary. Responding ordinands in religious institutes knew the members of their religious institute for 5 years, on average, before entering.
Age
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On average, responding ordinands first considered priesthood when they were 16 years old. Responding ordinands were scheduled for ordination, on average, 17 years later (at the age of 33).
Race/Ethnicity and Culture
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Six in ten responding ordinands (62%) are Caucasian. One in six (17%) is Hispanic/Latino. One in ten (11%) is Asian/Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian. One in twenty (5%) is African/African American/Black.
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A third (35%) is foreign-born. The three most common countries of birth among the foreign-born are Vietnam (5% of all responding ordinands), Mexico (3%), and Colombia (2%). On average, foreign-born responding ordinands came to live in the United States 14 years ago, at the age of 22.
Education
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Three in five responding ordinands (61%) completed an undergraduate degree or a graduate degree before entering the seminary.
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Among those who attended an undergraduate or graduate college before entering the seminary, the most common fields of study included philosophy/theology, engineering, business, and science or math.
Family Background
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Nine in ten responding ordinands (93%) reported being baptized Catholic as an infant. Among those who became Catholic later in life, the average age of conversion was 20.
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Nearly nine in ten responding ordinands (86%) reported that both their parents were Catholic when they were children. The vast majority of responding ordinands (97%) were raised during the most formative part of their childhood by their biological parents.
Practices that led them to discern vocation
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In regard to prayer practices, four in five responding ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (81%) on a regular basis before entering the seminary, as compared to 79% who prayed rosary, 52% who participated in a prayer/Bible group, and 48% who engaged in Lectio Divina.
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In regard to participation in parish ministries, four in five responding ordinands (79%) served as altar servers before entering the seminary, as compared to 49% who served as lectors, 35% who served as EMHC, 34% who served in Campus/Youth ministry, and 32% who served as catechists.
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Nine in ten responding ordinands (92%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life [most frequently by parish priest (70%), friend (49%), mother (46%), or parishioner (44%)].
