Almighty Father, we beg You for an increase in religious vocations and holy marriages in our diocese.

Help us to be generous in our response to Your call. Choose from our homes those who are needed for Your work and strengthen us with the courage to say “yes” and to follow You.

Help us as a diocese, as a parish, as families to encourage and foster vocations to the priesthood, permanent diaconate, and consecrated life. We commend our prayers to our patroness, Mary, Queen of the Rosary, and ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

- Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr


Meet Our Seminarians

Diocese of Duluth Vocation Home Page

Different Areas Priests Serve:

Diocesan Priests: Priests who usually are parish pastors or chaplains within their diocese.

Chaplains: Priests who are chaplains either in the schools, Newman Centers, prisons, hospitals, military, etc.
 
Religious: Men who studied and are formed to be either ordained priests or religious brothers (non-priests) for particular religious orders.
 
If you feel God is calling you to the priesthood, religious life, or if there are any questions or concerns, please contact our Diocesan Vocations Director, Father Nicholas Nelson, at [email protected] or visit the Diocesan Vocations page.

*You may even contact your parish priest if you would like to have a conversation about your vocation! 
 

MEET OUR SEMINARIANS

• Religious Life 
  • Each woman is called by God to participate in the mission of the church and to live God’s love for all people. She may fulfill this mission in a variety of ways. One of those ways is through the consecrated life. In this vocation, she lives her life in total, undivided dedication to Christ, her spouse, and to God’s people, her spiritual children, for their spiritual and moral growth.
  • If you have a desire to find out more or an interest in the possibility of religious life, you should seek additional information. Ask for advice. Seek the guidance of competent people, especially religious, priests, and vocation directors. A good spiritual director may be very helpful in giving objective advice. The most important thing you can do is to pray to the Lord for wisdom and courage to discern and do his will.
• If you feel that God is calling you to religious life, please contact our Diocesan Vocations Director, Father Nicholas Nelson, at [email protected] or visit the Diocesan Vocations page.

• Consecration of Virgins
  • The consecration of virgins goes back to the early days of the Church, when some women felt called by God to give themselves entirely to Him.  Through the Rite of Consecration, the virgin is mystically espoused to Jesus Christ, her Divine Spouse, and as his bride serves as a sign to the world of Christ’s love for the Church.
     
    Consecrated virgins are committed to seeking intimacy with their Divine Spouse in all things.  Their life is lived in prayer and penance for clergy, the Church and the world, with special attention to praying for their Bishop, priests and the needs of the Diocese.  They pray the Liturgy of the Hours and serve the Church according to their gifts.  Consecrated virgins do not wear a habit or take a new name, but they do receive a ring as a symbol of their spousal union with Christ.
    
    Cannon Law on Consecrated Virginity:
    Can. 604 §1. Similar to these forms of consecrated life is the order of virgins who, expressing the holy resolution of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are mystically betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.
    §2. In order to observe their own resolution more faithfully and to perform by mutual assistance service to the Church in harmony with their proper state, virgins can be associated together.
  • Virgins fall under Consecrated persons
    • Consecrated persons
      1. Monastic life
      2. Apostolic religious life
      3. Hermits
      4. Consecrated virgins living in the world
  • For more information about the Consecration of Virgins, please follow this link: https://consecratedvirgins.org/whatis
  • Interested or have questions? Please contact your pastor.

Religious Sisters in the Diocese of Duluth


Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus

Benedictine Sisters

 

Have you ever had a sense that you might be called to serve God through the blessings you have received? Maybe you have sensed a call to assist our priests in the daily work of parish ministry. Maybe you have become acutely aware of the many injustices facing God's people in the world, and you feel a call to try to make a difference. All Christians are called to serve, but perhaps you have felt a desire to move closer to God and his church in order to serve others in a new and purposeful way. Is God calling you to be a permanent deacon?

By entering into the process of discerning a vocation to the permanent diaconate, you are responding to this sense that God may be calling you. It starts simply and becomes a journey of self-discovery in service to God and His people.

Diocese of Duluth Vocation Permanent Deaconate Website

If you feel God is calling you to the permanent deaconate, please contact:

Deacon Dan Goshey

Director of the Office of Permanent Diaconate
218-316-0607
dcn.dan.gosheyduluthcatholic.org