I was ordained a Catholic priest on
December 21, 1963. As a young man, I felt God was calling me to be a
priest, and I entered the seminary of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
God used me in the Church to teach, to preach, to pastor, and to lead
many in prayer. These 37 years of ministry have fulfilled my life with
some anxiety and much joy.
Now as Archbishop of Chicago I have
the joy of working with priests, religious deacons, lay women
and lay
men who serve the 378 parishes and other institutions of the
Archdiocese in Lake and Cook Counties. Their generosity and commitment
to the Church impress and inspire me.
In prayer, I often go back to the
words of the Lord when he said, "the harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few." I pray daily that the Lord send laborers into the
vineyard. The Archdiocese of Chicago needs faith-filled priests,
dedicated religious, generous deacons, and committed laity to serve
God and his people and to transform the world.
The
website provides you with information about the
priesthood, provides answers to some of your questions, and gives you
direction on how you can further consider God's call to serve as a
priest. It provides names of priests to contact for further
information and describes how someone discerns a call from God and
learns more about the seminary where men prepare to become priests.
The site reminds us that all of us are called to become vocation
promoters who identify, invite, encourage, and support vocations to
the priesthood.
Ministry in the new millennium calls
for capable, competent, and, above all, spiritual priests. God may be
calling you. God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
