As Catholic schools and parishes around the nation mark national Vocation Awareness Week next week, the Archdiocese of Louisville’s Vocation Office hopes that Catholics will make a new commitment to pray for vocations.
The Vocation Office is one of the dozens of ministries and programs that receive funding from the Catholic Services Appeal.
The Archdiocese of Louisville currently has 17 seminarians in various stages of formation for the priesthood. One seminarian, Deacon Adam Carrico, is preparing to be ordained on Dec. 19.
These men range in age from 19 to 50 and represent 14 different parishes in the archdiocese. While most are from the United States, the countries of Vietnam, Bolivia and the Philippines are represented, too. (A listing of this year’s seminarians follows this story.)
“It’s a really, really fine group,” said Father Michael Wimsatt, director of the Vocation Office. “They look out for one another and have a lot of promise. They know there are a lot of challenges that are significant, but they are men of strong faith and they love God and the church.
“I’ve been a priest for five years. Knowing them and being around them makes me want to be a better priest,” said Father Wimsatt.
The seminarians are attending schools in Rome, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and Washington, D.C. While they are far away from the Archdiocese of Louisville, it may be hard for people in the archdiocese to feel connected to them, Father Wimsatt noted.
“But one of the virtues of the vocation director position is to see how hard they work and how much good they do in their local areas — working with the poor and teaching. Seminary really involves the men in the corporal works of mercy,” he said. “Our people should feel really proud, even though they don’t see first hand the work they do in their seminaries and within their local communities.”
Father Wimsatt has a new set of hands to help him in his work at the Vocation Office now. Benedictine Sister Sarah Yungwirth, a former teacher at St. Patrick School and a member of the Benedictine Sisters of Ferdinand, Ind., is the new associate director for vocations. She succeeds Carrie Williamson, who is now the director of pastoral ministry at St. Patrick Church.
Sister Yungwirth and Father Wimsatt aren’t strangers, though. They worked together six or more years ago — while he was still a seminarian — visiting schools to talk to children about discerning a vocation.
“That was providential, because it was in the context of our positions we have now,”
he said, noting that they also work together during events for Teens and 20s Encounter Christ (TEC), a retreat ministry.
“In those two contexts (vocation outreach and TEC), you can’t help but be impressed by her enthusiasm, her sincerity and her strong spiritual identity — all of which are really important to what we do at the Vocation Office,” he added.
Sister Yungwirth has a couple of roles in her new position. She still strives to promote vocations around the Archdiocese of Louisville, as she put it, “Helping to plant the seeds and build a culture of vocations.”
And she provides support to seminarians — from helping them navigate the administrative aspects of attending seminary to sharing in their journey spiritually and emotionally.
“Vocations are so vital to who we are as a person,” she said. “Each of us is called to holiness. Having the opportunity to plant those seeds and encourage people to look at what God is calling them to is a very blessed experience for me.”
During Vocation Awareness Week, Sister Yungwirth is encouraging people to begin a commitment to pray regularly for vocations.
The Vocation Office will hold three special dinners, called St. Andrew Dinners, in November and December for young men who may be interested in discerning a vocation. Attendees must be invited to attend by their pastor or another parish leader.
Also during Vocation Awareness Week, local students will be visited by men and women religious and priests who will discuss vocations. Schools and parishes may schedule a vocation visit with the Vocation Office any time by calling 636-0296.
