Priests/Priesthood

The letter, released Dec. 22, marked the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s decrees on priestly formation and on the life and ministry of priests.

Priests feel “faithful to their calling,” useful, “in their place,” and generally “at peace,” if less idealistic than when they began.

Seminary formation was already notoriously long and recently, an additional year has been added: the propadeutic year. Yet few are complaining.

Attorneys for the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, have moved to voluntarily dismiss a religious visa lawsuit they had filed against the federal government for religious workers.

Father Jan Swierc, rector of the Salesian parish in Krakow, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1941, taken to prison and then transferred to Auschwitz.

The Vatican’s missionary news agency shared statistics about the Catholic population, church personnel and the works they are engaged in.

The study was released Oct. 14 by The Catholic Project at The Catholic University of America, and serves as a follow-up to its landmark 2022 national study. 

Graduate-level and college-level enrollment at Catholic seminaries in the U.S. were down significantly in the 2024-2025 academic year, while high school seminary enrollment has held steady, according to CARA statistics

“We commend him now into the loving and merciful hands of our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the help of Mary, our Blessed Mother.”

As Pope Leo XIV neared his 70th birthday Sept. 14, those closest to him said they knew, very early on, he was in for lifelong service to the church.