VOCATIONS
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Becoming a Priest in the Diocese of Westminster


What is Vocation


“… the common vocation of all Christ’s disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church 1533

You are unique and unrepeatable. No one else sees the world the way you do. No one else has your gifts and insights. No one else has your D.N.A. or your thumbprints. You were called out of nothingness by the generous love of a Creator God who chose to give you life. God has a purpose and a meaning for you because everything you are comes from God. You are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). You are his work of art.

Apart from each person’s fundamental vocation, their calling to holiness, the Catholic Church teaches that there are particular vocations or ways of responding to God’s call: Lay Ministry, Consecrated and Religious Life, Single and Married life, or being called by the Church to be Ordained as Priests or Permanent Deacons.
Deacon Richard Nesbitt, Fr. John McKenna and Fr. Agustin Conessa, ordained in 2006
Deacon Richard Nesbitt, Fr. John McKenna and Fr. Agustin Conessa, ordained in 2006

“Vocation is the divine invitation to this self-realization according to this image, and is unique-singular-unrepeatable precisely because this image is inexhaustible. Every creature expresses and is called to express a particular aspect of the thought of God. There he finds his name and his identity; he affirms and ensures his freedom and originality.”

“Just as holiness is for all the baptized in Christ, so there exists a specific vocation for every living person; and just as the first is rooted in Baptism, so is the second connected to the simple fact of existing. The vocation is the providential thought of the Creator for every creature, it is his idea-plan, like a dream found in God’s heart, because the creature is found in his heart. God the Father wants this to be different and specific for each living person.”
New Vocations for a New Europe, In Verbo tuo, Vatican 1997

Useful Links

When you are discerning your particular vocation in life it is important that you speak with someone you trust, perhaps a close friend or family member, or to your Chaplain or Parish Priest. There are also many resources available and some good support groups. You may find these links a good place to start:

General Links


Seminary Links


Further information



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