Category: Diocese of Scranton News

PARIS (OSV News) – Miraculously missed by burning beams falling from the roof on April 15, 2019, and waiting for five years to make it back to Notre Dame Cathedral, the 14th-century statue of the Virgin of Paris made it back home Nov. 15, accompanied by thousands of Parisians praying, singing and lighting candles as they walked their Virgin to Paris’ most iconic church, restored after the fire.

Since the fire, the statue, also referred to as Virgin and Child, or the Virgin of the Pillar, has been housed near the Louvre in the Church of Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, from where the procession started at 6 p.m. local time.

For Auxiliary Bishop Philippe Marsset of Paris, the statue represents “a kind of miracle.”

“Many Christians saw the fire as a sign of the purification God was asking his church to experience,” he told OSV News. “The statue of the Virgin was spared in the flames and the waters. It remained standing, as a sign that heaven was watching over us, and that this disaster would not have the last word.”

It seemed like the entire city, typically proud of its “laïcité,” or secularism, wanted to be with her the night of Nov. 15. All major newspapers and websites in the country invited Parisians to join throughout the day, making her the top of the news cycle, with a brief pause to report on surprise off-camera “reconnaissance” visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, who sneaked unexpectedly inside the cathedral Nov. 15, before the announced meeting planned on site with the archbishop of Paris Nov. 29, Le Figaro confirmed.

The Virgin of Paris quickly took back center stage in the evening. Standing 6 feet high and sculpted in white stone, the copy of the original statue was solemnly walked to the cathedral as the original was transported by a special truck.

From 1855 – the first major restoration of the cathedral in the 19th century – it was standing at the foot of the southeast pillar of the transept crossing, a position that earned the statue the name Virgin of the Pillar.

When the fire broke out in April 2019, the statue was found soaked by water from the firefighter units and surrounded by ashes, next to pieces of fallen timber, and stone rubble from the collapsed transept vault. But the surface was intact. The following October, it was moved to Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, where Notre Dame’s liturgical activities had been transferred.

As the long-anticipated Marian procession was about to start, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris welcomed the crowd on the square in front of the church, along with the chaplains of Notre Dame, and knights of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, dressed in their white capes.

Transporting the real statue of the Virgin on foot was out of the question for security reasons. Instead, everyone was able to witness her departure by truck, before setting off, with candles and singing, behind a replica, illuminated and decorated with white flowers. The procession followed the banks of the Seine River toward the Île de la Cité, one of two Parisian islands and home to Notre Dame Cathedral.

Arriving in front of the cathedral at around 7 p.m., the pilgrims were greeted by the singing of the Maîtrise Notre Dame, the cathedral’s choir, homeless but traveling the world for the last five years. The archbishop blessed the original statue, the crate carrying it having been opened so that it could be seen. The truck then entered the cathedral’s construction site.

At the same time, the “Pèlerinage des Pierres Vivantes,” or “Pilgrimage of the Living Stones” — a youth association of the Archdiocese of Paris — led a prayer vigil in front of the cathedral.

“It was an opportunity to remind us that even before the doors are officially open, Notre Dame is a building destined for prayer,” Noémie Teyssier d’Orfeuil, a volunteer leader, told OSV News.

“Originally, the return of the statue was a logistical event. But the opportunity was seized to turn it into a missionary and popular event,” she said.

For Teyssier d’Orfeuil, this pilgrimage symbolized “the restoration of Notre Dame’s cult vocation,” prior to its inauguration by the official authorities of the French state and cultural world on the weekend of Dec. 7-8.

“The cathedral is first and foremost an icon of the mystery of the church,” the young French Catholic said.

Inside the cathedral, the original statue is once again being installed not far from the altar, near the pillar at the foot of which the famous French writer and diplomat Paul Claudel converted on Christmas Day 1886.

In 1913, he described the conversion moment: “It was the gloomiest winter day and the darkest rainy afternoon over Paris,” he wrote. He recalled standing “near the second pillar at the entrance to the chancel, to the right, on the side of the sacristy,” when “occurred the event” which dominated his “entire life.”

“In an instant, my heart was touched and I believed,” Claudel wrote. “I believed with such a strength of adherence, with such an uplifting of my entire being, with such powerful conviction, with such a certainty leaving no room for any kind of doubt, that since then all the books, all the arguments, all the incidents and accidents of a busy life have been unable to shake my faith, nor indeed to affect it in any way.”

Father Gaëtan de Bodard, new chaplain of the iconic Paris’ fire brigade that saved Notre Dame — and successor to Father Jean-Marc Fournier, who courageously ran into the burning cathedral to first preserve the Blessed Sacrament, bless the burning church and then save the crown of thorns — said that Notre Dame today is already a witness to new miracles of conversion.

“I personally know one of the firefighters who intervened that evening at Notre Dame and who rediscovered his faith at that moment,” Father de Bodard told OSV News. “He had turned away from his faith in the face of all the suffering, pain, deprivation, loneliness, blood and wounds he saw. But on the night of the fire, he was moved to see the whole city of Paris at a standstill, and people praying on their knees in the streets,” the new chaplain of Paris’ firefighters unit said.

“Inside, he was struck by the luminous cross of Christ shining in the choir, after the collapse of the spire. He felt a guiding presence, which marked the beginning of a profound rapprochement with God,” Father de Bodard said.

For Bishop Marsset the cross inside the destroyed cathedral and the saved Virgin of the Pillar are signs that there is hope “beyond destruction.”

“Mary, in her humility, and the cross, in its radiance, gave us the direction: ‘Church, cross over your ashes, assume what you have done, do penance, and at the end of this road, there is a ‘beyond disaster.'”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis is asking parishes, Catholic institutions and religious congregations in Rome to celebrate the Holy Year 2025 by offering a home to someone who is without.

“In view of the Jubilee, I am asking my diocese to give a tangible sign of attention to the housing problem so that, alongside the welcome given to all the pilgrims who will come, forms of protection are activated for those who do not have a home or are in danger of losing it,” Pope Francis said in a letter dated Nov. 8 and released by the Vatican press office a week later.

Addressed specifically to “the superiors of religious orders, the legal representatives of church entities, pastors and the clergy,” the pope’s letter requested that any church body in Rome that owns real estate contribute to alleviating the city’s housing crisis.

“Signs of charity and solidarity,” he said, are needed to generate “hope in the thousands of people in the city of Rome who are in a condition of precarious housing.”

The director of the Rome diocesan Caritas office issued a report in July saying that while there are “between 120,000 and 150,000 empty apartments in Rome,” there are at least 22,000 people living on the streets and many thousands more who are just a few missed payments away from eviction.

Deacon Giustino Trincia, the Caritas director, and others have said the housing problem is worsening in the lead up to the Holy Year because many owners of empty apartments plan to rent them short-term to Holy Year pilgrims.

Pope Francis has chosen “hope” as the theme of the 2025 Jubilee, and in his letter, he said that “hope is born from loving and feeling loved. It is God’s love that generates hope and God’s love passes through our love.”

The national and city governments and organizations of different kinds are trying to help those without homes, the pope said, and the church must make its contribution.

Pope Francis asked all church entities, but especially those that have vacant apartments or who run guest houses, “to make a courageous gesture of love for their neighbors by offering the spaces they have available.”

Social services and specialized agencies will look after the people being offered shelter, he said, while volunteer associations will help ensure they have the company and care they need.

Pope Francis closed his letter with his thanks “for your generosity and for all that you already do to transmit the love of God and generate hope in the lives of all, particularly those who need it most.”

BALTIMORE (OSV News) – The U.S. bishops’ annual fall assembly in Baltimore saw the shepherds of the Catholic Church in this country make intentional steps toward integrating their work with the synodal missionary style called for by the global church’s recently concluded Synod on Synodality.

At the outset of the Nov. 11-14 plenary assembly, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, delivered a homily in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – “the mother church of the synodal activity of the hierarchy in this country” – where he called upon the bishops to beg for wisdom “because we recognize that we are servants of the truth and charged to find ways to help those entrusted to our care.”

At the opening public session, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal ambassador to the U.S., told the bishops that Pope Francis’ recent encyclical “Dilexit Nos,” on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, is a call to “return to the heart” of Jesus — and key to understanding the church’s call to synodal evangelization, Eucharistic revival and the upcoming Jubilee 2025.

“The deeper we go into his heart, the more strengthened we will be to proclaim the Good News together,” he said Nov. 12.

Over the course of the assembly’s Nov. 12 and 13 public sessions, the bishops voted to approve a new “mission directive” for 2025-2028, which commits USCCB committees and staff to prioritize in their work “evangelizing those who are religiously unaffiliated or disaffiliated from the Church, with special focus on young adults and the youth.”

Regarding the global synod that concluded in October, a majority of the U.S. bishops in a voice vote Nov. 12 called for the USCCB’s Committee on Priorities and Plans to discern developing a task force to help the conference and dioceses implement the final synod document approved by Pope Francis.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who has led the USCCB’s involvement in the synod process, briefed the bishops on the synod’s October meeting. He said that more theological work needs to be done alongside efforts to develop a synodal missionary culture among Catholics.

“If it doesn’t reach the parishes, it hardly reaches the people of God,” he noted.

The bishops also decided to go ahead with drafting a new document on lay ecclesial ministry in the U.S., that would take into account what Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, chair of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, called “the experience of co-responsibility in the church, the evolving nature of parish and diocesan workplaces, and above all the call to greater synodality.”

They also approved a final draft of “The Order of Crowning an Image of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Spanish texts for the Liturgy of the Hours, and the revised New American Bible for use in liturgy.

The conference also saw exemplars of American holiness promoted. The bishops affirmed two new causes brought to them for consultation: Benedictine Sister Annella Zervas of Moorhead, Minnesota, and Gertrude Agnes Barber, a laywoman from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Auxiliary Bishop Roy E. Campbell of Washington, president of the National Black Catholic Congress, who presented on the NBCC’s 2023 congress and resulting pastoral action plan, called on the bishops to promote the canonization causes of Black Catholics known collectively as the “Holy Six” — Venerable Mother Mary Lange; Venerable Father Augustus Tolton; Venerable Mother Henriette DeLille; Venerable Pierre Toussaint; Servant of God Julia Greeley; and Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman.

Bishop Stepan Sus, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s Pastoral and Migration Department, received a standing ovation from the bishops after sharing with them Ukraine’s plight under Russian occupation and thanking the U.S. church for its continued solidarity.

“As a church we cannot change all realities of the world,” he said. “But we can be next to those people who suffer and wipe their tears.”

Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, and board chair of the National Eucharistic Congress Inc., discussed the NEC’s next steps after the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the 2024 national Eucharistic pilgrimages and congress, saying the organization would support dioceses in their own events, “especially helping to form and send Eucharistic missionaries.”

The bishops also discussed how to mark the 10th anniversary of the release of “Laudato Si’,” Pope Francis’ encyclical on integral ecology. Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Borys A. Gudziak of Philadelphia, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, suggested the encyclical could be “integrated into our core mission of evangelization,” and that bringing back fasting practices, such as regularly abstaining from eating meat on Fridays, “would be good for the soul and for the planet.”

The bishops also heard a presentation offered by the committees on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth; Pro-Life Activities; and Catholic Education in relation to implementing the Vatican declaration on human dignity, “Dignitas Infinita,” released in April.

The looming potential of President-elect Donald Trump implementing his campaign promise to enact mass deportations also shaped the bishops’ conversation. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, encouraged his brother bishops and their priests to speak loudly and unified on the issue of migration, especially in light of recent rhetoric from public figures, saying the lay faithful have a “real hunger … for leadership from their priests and bishops alike on this issue.”

The conference also passed an operating budget for 2025 with no increase in diocesan assessment.

They elected bishops to several USCCB leadership positions. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis was voted in as treasurer-elect and chairman-elect of the budget committee. Auxiliary Bishop Michael G. Woost of Cleveland was elected chairman-elect for the Committee on Divine Worship; Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, was elected chairman-elect of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop Edward J. Burns was elected as head of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth; and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, was elected chairman-elect of the Committee on Migration. The prelates assume their positions at the conclusion of the bishops’ 2025 fall assembly.

The bishops also confirmed two bishops to the board of directors of Catholic Relief Services, the international relief agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S.: Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, and Auxiliary Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala of Washington.

The USCCB concluded its annual plenary assembly Nov. 14 in executive session, but released a statement of pastoral concern that day of “firm solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters who live and labor in these United States.” It stated, “Together, we must speak out on behalf of the ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ and ask our government to provide fair and humane treatment for our beloved immigrant brothers and sisters.”

SCRANTON – “The family that prays together stays together” has been an international Catholic catchphrase for decades.

It owes its origin to the late Father Patrick Peyton, a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and longtime promoter of the family rosary.

This weekend, the Diocese of Scranton will celebrate Father Peyton’s legacy with a large-scale Rosary Rally in downtown Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

The festivities will be spread throughout the 300- and 400-blocks of Wyoming Avenue beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The highlight of the Nov. 16 Rosary Rally in Scranton will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of Saint Peter. Together, families will recite the rosary, and there will be inspiring talks, music and Eucharistic Adoration.

The reason for this year’s celebration is 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of Father Peyton’s first Rosary Rally in the United States, which was held in Scranton, and drew an estimated 50,000 people.

A display focusing on that event in 1949 will be set-up in the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 330 Wyoming Avenue. There will also be screenings of the movie “Pray,” which focuses on the story of Patrick Peyton.

Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Father Peyton was perhaps the best-known “media priest” because he hosted a nationally broadcast radio program for more than 22 years and produced more than 70 films and television programs through his Family Theater Productions, in addition to his numerous rosary rallies conducted around the globe.

At the age of 19, Patrick Peyton and his older brother, Thomas, immigrated to the United States from Ireland, joining their three older sisters who previously had made the move to Scranton.

Patrick Peyton got a job as a sexton (janitor) at the Cathedral of Saint Peter and a little more than a year later, answered the call to the priesthood and entered the seminary of the Congregation of the Holy Cross at Notre Dame, Indiana.

Two years from ordination, Patrick was stricken with tuberculosis and was given little hope for recovery. Inexplicably cured 15 months later, he credited the miracle to the intercession of Mary, to whom he had turned in prayer. By a special indult from the Vatican, Patrick was able to be ordained alongside his brother in 1941, despite the formation time lost because of the illness.

A mere seven months after his ordination, Father Patrick Peyton felt inspired by God to start the Family Rosary Crusade. He was motivated, in part, by his sincere belief that prayer was the answer to the breakdown of the American family, and, in part, by his eagerness to repay Mary for restoring his health.

Father Peyton died June 3, 1992, at the age of 83 and is buried in Easton, Massachusetts. Father Peyton’s cause for canonization to sainthood was opened in 2001. Pope Francis declared him venerable in December 2017.

Today, 32 years after his death, Father Peyton’s legacy of promoting prayer and the rosary continues through Holy Cross Family Ministries, which offers prayer events, formation ministries and family-focused media.

All individuals and families are invited to come out on Saturday to learn more about Father Peyton and participate in the events listed above.

For those unable to attend in person, CTV: Catholic Television will broadcast and livestream the 1:30 p.m. event at the Cathedral.

LARKSVILLE – A total of 328,250 rosaries and counting.

That is the astounding number of rosaries that a small group in Luzerne County has created over the last several decades.

Twice a month, the volunteers meet at Saint John the Baptist Parish to assemble each rosary by hand. Each is carefully crafted, using beads, wire, and clasps, and then sent to individuals in need – whether that be people facing illness, suffering, or those who simply seek to deepen their faith.

“I just love the Blessed Mother, and I’ll do anything for her. Making the rosaries just gives you such great satisfaction,” Barbara Morris said.

Morris began making rosaries more than thirty years ago at the former Saint Hedwig Church in Edwardsville. She says the rosary-making effort that has now moved to Saint John’s Church is a beautiful and peaceful way to serve others.

“The Blessed Mother needs us to do her work, and we just love doing it,” she added.

Maryann Suda still remembers joining the rosary makers group 21 years ago when she was looking for something to do in the evenings.

Suda considers each rosary she makes an offering of prayer, knowing it will find its way into the hands of someone who needs it.

“It just makes you feel good to know that you’re able to give (out) these rosaries, or have these rosaries sent to others, so they can also learn of our Blessed Mother and her goodness and the love she has for us,” Suda said.

While initially sent all over the world, many of the rosaries that the group makes now stay in the United States. Rosaries have been donated to schools, pro-life efforts, soup kitchens and many other places, providing a tangible way for people to connect with their faith through prayer.

As the group continues its work over the decades, the commitment of its members remains unwavering. Gathering regularly, many of the volunteers have become friends, sharing a sense of purpose and connection.

“You feel the love and feel the devotion that everybody has,” Jessica Lee said.

“It is not just members of our parish. We have other parishes that come to help us. We all know each other somehow,” Rose Feddock added. “Everybody seems to know everybody.”

With each bead strung, and every rosary sent out into the community, those participating in the rosary-making effort know their work is a reminder that acts of faith, no matter how small they seem, can ripple out into the world in ways that are both profound and far-reaching.

“The rosary is our weapon of peace,” Morris said.

DUNMORE – After having watched his older brother attend Holy Cross High School, Christopher Rotell-Tierney always knew he wanted to attend the Dunmore school as well.

“I love the environment. Everyone cares about each other. The faculty genuinely cares about us, not just our academics,” he said.

Now in his senior year, Rotell-Tierney is thankful for scholarship money that has made his dream a reality.

“Our world today is very expensive wherever you turn and the scholarships I have received have helped me not only attend HCHS but has softened the financial blow of everyday life,” he added.

For many students, receiving a scholarship or financial aid makes a Catholic school education possible.

That is why the Diocese of Scranton recently partnered with RedefinED, a company that has proven success in maximizing Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) contributions.

The EITC program is a Pennsylvania initiative that allows both individuals and businesses to direct their state income tax money to benefit students instead of sending that funding to Harrisburg.

“Not only can it change the lives of students, but it can help make Catholic schools more financially sound, by having more dollars and funding the gap that exists between what they charge (in tuition) and what it actually costs,” Alyse Maslonik, founder and CEO of RedefinED, explained.

This mission is personal for Maslonik, who personally was able to attend a Catholic school because of someone else’s EITC contribution. Since founding her company in January 2022, RedefinED has already raised more than $28 million in tax credit scholarship funding.

“It’s really important for me to simplify the process for the everyday person because so many people don’t know about the program even though it has been around since 2001,” Maslonik said.

The new Diocesan partnership with RedefinED makes the process easy. The company oversees the work – including all the paperwork after a participant signs a pledge form.

“So often, parents say, ‘it’s too good to be true,’” Maslonik admitted. “The biggest push-back that we get is that people can’t believe that this exists.”

Getting Involved in the EITC Program in 3 Easy Steps

Anyone who is interested in supporting Catholic education, or students in one of the Diocese of Scranton’s 19 Catholic schools, can participate in the EITC program. People do not have to have a child or grandchild enrolled in a Catholic school to participate.

Maslonik said many people appreciate knowing the tangible impact their tax dollars can have on a student’s life.

“There’s not usually a human connection with the tax dollars that we pay but EITC provides that human connection,” she explained. “They can know, I helped Sally Smith through her education and look at her now.”

Following RedefinED’s program, the first thing a participant needs to do is determine what they’re currently paying in state taxes.

“Once you figure out what your taxes are, you sign up, write your check, and get your refund. That is how easy it is,” Maslonik added.

The impact is life changing.

For Rotell-Tierney, being immersed in theology classes and attending Masses regularly at Holy Cross High School has made him a better person.

“The everyday environment, where I am able to experience my Catholic faith, has definitely changed my view of life and myself and has made me realize that part of what we should be doing is helping in our community, giving back to others when we can,” he said.

For more information or to participate in the EITC tax credit program, contact Hayley Youngkin, donor relationship manager for RedefinED covering the Scranton area, at (814) 419-5505 or Hayley@redefiningeducation.org. For general information, you can visit RedefinED’s website at redefiningeducation.org.

ARCHBALD – When Amy Hassaj recently welcomed a man to Christ the King’s new clothing closet, she expected he might be looking for some new pants or a winter coat.

Instead, his request was much simpler.

“He looked through everything and said, ‘I just need two bars of soap,’” Hassaj recalled.

Touched by how deep his need was, and how something so simple can be a luxury for someone, Hassaj volunteers her time twice a month to be a part of her parish’s newest social justice outreach program.

“It is nice to be able to help out and give back to the community that I grew up in and was always so good to me,” she said. “I was baptized here and had all my sacraments here, so it just always has been a very special place and as an adult it’s nice to give back.”

Earlier this year, Christ the King Parish opened its new “Community Closet” to share new and gently used clothing items, toiletries, and household items with neighbors in need. The items have all been purchased or donated by parishioners and local community members.

“Most people don’t think there are needy people in this community, but when you work this, you can see it,” volunteer Judy Rudalavage explained. “We are open to anyone.”

Rudalavage was touched by a different story.

Her friend, Bunny Chorba, recently encountered a man who just got out of prison, secured a full-time job, but only had two sweat suits to wear. The man does not have a washer or dryer available to him.

“He was washing his outfits in his tub and rinsing them,” Rudalavage explained.

Just a few days before Halloween, Chorba visited the clothing closet to help the recently released inmate get back on his feet by providing him with some extra attire.

“He only wants a second chance,” Chorba said. “And we’re in a ministry here.”

The new “Community Closet” has two designated rooms on the second floor of the Christ the King Parish Center. The rooms are fully stocked with clothing of all sizes for women, men, and children. In addition, there are shoes, accessories, purses, toiletries, and other items.

“It is a great outreach program,” Rudalavage said.

Before opening its “Community Closet,” Christ the King Parish already has been feeding the hungry through its food pantry in collaboration with Bread Basket of NEPA and hosting a weekly community meal in conjunction with Saint Francis of Assisi Kitchen.

At times, the food pantry serves up to 70 individuals and the community provides food for 40 people, both in person and the homebound, so providing clothing and hygiene projects was an extension of those efforts.

“When our parish formally inaugurated the Community Closet, I read the words of Jesus from Matthew 25, in which the Lord identifies himself with the poor, the hungry, and the naked,” Father Ryan Glenn, pastor, Christ the King Parish, said. “The Community Closet gives our faith community another opportunity to respond to the call to serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters.”

Christ the King Parish was aided in its efforts to get the new “Community Closet” established with the help of a Social Justice Grant from the 2024 Catholic Ministries Appeal. The grant helped fund new signage so that people can be directed to the services available and publicize all the parish’s ministries.

“Thanks in part to the support of the Catholic Ministries Appeal, our parish is living out the gospel through acts of charity and service,” Father Ryan added. “This grant helps us make an impact for good in the lives of our neighbors.”

Christ the King Parish has also invited parishioners and residents to support the ministry by donating new or gently used clothing, toiletries or other items that can be given out to the community.

The new “Community Closet” is open on Tuesday from 10 a.m. until noon and Thursday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. Appointments can also be made by calling the parish at (570) 876-1701.

DUNMORE – In a classroom inside Saint Mary of Mount Carmel School, seventh graders listened attentively as Father Alex Roche, Diocesan Secretary of Clergy Formation, shared stories of his journey to the priesthood.

When one student asked what the best part of being a priest was, Father Alex quickly responded it was being with them and being able to talk about God.

“Sometimes, the best thing that you can do for a kid is to remind them that God loves them, and he has a plan for them,” Father Alex later told The Catholic Light.

For many years, staff from the Diocesan Vocations Office has visited Catholic high schools to meet with students that might have an interest in the priesthood or religious life.

Father Alex is now also making it a priority to visit Catholic elementary schools to talk to younger students about prayer, discerning God’s call and recognizing the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Father Alex’s visits to local Catholic elementary schools have become a cornerstone of his mission to plant seeds of vocation in the hearts of young students, particularly in second and seventh grades, “pivot point” ages when studies show children are developing a new sense of self, discovering their gifts, and open to listening to God in prayer in a more mature way.

The visits are not just an opportunity to speak with children about the priesthood or religious life, but to emphasize the importance of following God’s calling in whatever form it might take.

“They are moments in life when things are starting to shift. They’re thinking about God and themselves in different ways, so I’ve found they’re important moments to get in and have some of these conversations,” Father Alex explained.

During each visit, Father Alex takes time to engage with students, answering their questions and helping them explore the idea of a ‘vocation’ in a way that is relatable to their age.

“I thought his talk was very informative,” seventh grader Molly Fox said after a recent presentation. “I learned there is more than one way to pray, and everybody has their own style.”

“I’m actually thinking about high school and college and what I want to do,” her classmate Sophia Triano admitted.

Triano said a vocation to religious life has crossed her mind, but she currently wants to be an actress.

“I always know that God is with me, and he’ll take care of me,” she added.

Traigh Sottile, who also participated in the presentation has also thought about the possibility of being a priest – mostly at the encouragement of his mother – but recognizes whatever his future holds, he will always need God’s guidance and assistance.

“You have to pray, and you have to ask for forgiveness,” he said.

All of Father Alex’s efforts are already inspiring young people to think about their own faith journeys and be open to the possibility of serving the Church.

Antonio Ingargiola, a former student from Saint Mary of Mount Carmel School, accompanied Father Alex on his recent trip. He has been discerning a call to the priesthood for more than a year.

“It’s really been a continuation of many different things, little comments that people would say, the external confirmation, people saying, ‘you’d be a great priest,’ and the internal stuff, really feeling that desire for God and feeling that this is something I could see myself doing,” Ingargiola stated.

Ingargiola says his Catholic faith is the center of his life. Despite all the challenges young people face in today’s world, he hopes when they listen to Father Alex, they will be reminded of Christ’s love for them.

“Before anything, we need to remember that we are God’s children. I think people become indifferent to God’s love and that is something we can’t allow to happen,” he added.