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| There are now 33 seminarians in the Diocese of Madison, up from six in 2003. Six were missing for this photo, taken at the seminarian gathering in Madison in August. Also pictured are Bishop Robert C. Morlino and Fr. Greg Ihm, director of vocations. A capital campaign seeks to raise $30 million for the education and formation of priests. (Catholic Herald photo/Pam Payne) |
MADISON — Both by lay people and priests alike, it’s been talked about, studied, and identified as the top concern facing the Diocese of Madison for several years now: the vocations crisis.
With a continuous line of faithful senior priests reaching retirement and a decidedly thinner lineup of priests ordained in the 1980s and ’90s, it would be hard to deny a crisis brewing.
Number one priority
In fact, so serious was the concern in the mind of Bishop Robert C. Morlino, and so clear was the message that he received from around the diocese, that he made the fostering of vocations to the priesthood his number one priority upon arriving in Madison in August of 2003.
The bishop, priests, and faithful of the diocese together initiated a program of fostering a “culture of vocations,” of inviting young men to consider the call God might be making to them, and to prayer — especially in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament — asking that more and more might answer the call of Jesus Christ.
Increasing numbers
And increasingly, men have been answering this need and God’s call with a profound “yes.” From six seminarians in 2003, the diocese has seen a near six-fold increase.
This year, the diocese is blessed to have 33 men studying for the priesthood, and the good news is that hopes remain high that (with continued prayers) growth in seminarian numbers will continue.
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To view the Campaign video, click here. |
Costs are growing
However, the cost of educating and forming men for a lifetime of priestly service adds up when such numbers are involved — it will take approximately $1.4 million this year.
Considering the increased numbers of seminarians and growing cost, it became clear to the bishop and others that a new type of “vocations crisis” was brewing — the Diocese of Madison would soon not have the funds necessary to educate the priests it so needs.
In response to this new vocations crisis, approximately one year ago, the diocese conducted a thorough feasibility study, with the assistance of one of the leading experts in Church funding (CCS).
That study, which included all of the priests and many lay faithful in the diocese, concluded that a capital campaign to endow seminary education is viewed as an urgent need in the Diocese of Madison, and that $30 million is a realistic target.
Church is alive
In his first apostolic letter, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis wrote “Wherever there is life, fervor, and a desire to bring Christ to others, genuine vocations will arise.”
As evidenced in the significant increase in seminarians studying, the number of men that have been ordained in recent years, and the vibrancy of our parishes and schools, the Church in our diocese is very much alive!
This life and energy in our diocese and especially the opportunity to endow seminary education for generations to come, led to the theme of our campaign: Priests for Our Future: The Church Is Alive!
Priest advisory committee
A small number of our great pastors were selected to be members of a priest advisory committee leading up to this campaign. Chaired by Msgr. Michael Burke and Msgr. Daniel Ganshert, this committee helped get us to where we are today — announcing a $30 million campaign for seminarian education.
Other members of the advisory committee were Msgr. Terrence Connors, Fr. John Hedrick, Fr. Thomas Kelly, Fr. Randy Timmerman, Fr. David Carrano, Msgr. James Bartylla, and Fr. Michael Richel, of happy memory whom we lost last month to cancer. We can trust that Father Richel will join us in prayer for this campaign’s success.
In discussing the need for a campaign and looking to secure funding for the education of Priests for Our Future, Msgr. Mike Burke explains that “the biggest issue we are facing in providing for the future, is the number of candidates we have. To be able to do our part in their formation and development is really important, because if we don’t, then we’re not going to have priests. And I want my nieces and nephews and I want St. Maria Goretti and I want all the parishes to have priests. This is the way we do it. This is how we can contribute to this. It is up to us.”
Pilot campaign in parishes
This summer seven of our parishes participated in a pilot campaign, and while fundraising efforts continue in some, this was an overwhelming success, raising nearly $4.8 million to date in pledges from over 1,000 families, toward a combined goal of $4.1 million.
These funds, and all those collected throughout the campaign, are separately held and managed by the Catholic Diocese of Madison Foundation (CDMF) and used solely for the recruitment and formation of seminarians.
Public phases
The now official and public phases of this campaign will begin in a number of parishes this fall and continue over the next year and a half.
While your continued prayers are needed now, each priest will lead their respective parishes in the pledging process. So, please wait until your priest more formally leads your parish through the campaign to make your gift.
When it comes time for each parish’s participation, we will all have an opportunity to make a pledge to ensure that the many men saying “yes” to God’s call to the priesthood will have an excellent formation for many years to come — and to ensure that our people and parishes will have priests serving and leading us toward God for decades to come.
Blessing of St. John Paul II
Bishop Morlino has implored the blessing of St. John Paul II on our efforts and asked the entire diocese to make a pledge to this campaign.
He added, “We have prayed fervently for an increase in vocations. God is generously answering our prayers. God has done His part — that’s the hardest part. Let us not hesitate to do our part with great generosity.”
Website, more information
We have put together a website, linked on the diocesan homepage (www.madisondiocese.org), to answer your questions about this campaign and provide you more information.
There too, you can view a video laying out the need for priests and our need to help support the next generation of priests’ formation.
Together as a diocese, we continue to pray for increased vocations to both the priestly and religious life, and we pray that God will bless this effort and all of our worthwhile endeavors as we go forward.
Together as a diocese, we can succeed in endowing seminarian education through the Priests for Our Future: The Church Is Alive! capital campaign.
Msgr. Dan Ganshert articulated the need for priests well, saying, “if there isn’t a priest, there isn’t the Eucharist. And if there isn’t the Eucharist, there isn’t the Church. I know at St. Joseph, in Gratiot, because of our priest we had the Eucharist and we had our Church.”