Special Vocations Prayer Initiative Launched
#Pray4Vocations to run from May until October as centenary celebrations in Fatima set to commence.
From left: Sr. Patience Ezimigbo, OLA, Sr. Mary Crowley, OLA, Margaret Cartwright, Vocations Ireland, and Sr. Susan Aseu, FMSA. Image courtesy of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference Facebook page.
Vocations Sunday was marked in Ireland yesterday (7th May) with the launch of a new vocations prayer initiative to coincide with centenary celebrations of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.
The launch took place immediately after a special ‘Vocations Sunday’ Mass which was broadcast live on television from the RTÉ Studios in Dublin. Srs. Julie Doran, Patience Ezimigbo and Mary Crowley represented the OLA Sisters at the mass and the following launch.
According to Sr. Mary Crowley, OLA Vocations Director, this year is particularly significant:
“2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. To coincide with this event, the Bishops’ Council for Vocations and Vocations Ireland has asked that on the opening day of the centenary celebrations, 13th May, a time of prayer will be held for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life.”
People in Ireland are invited to pray the Angelus or a decade of the Rosary for vocations to the priesthood and religious life at 12 noon this Saturday, 13th May. It is also encouraged that on the 13th of each month from this May until October, a decade of the Rosary be prayed for vocations in Ireland. Those who use social media are encouraged to get involved in the conversation using the hashtag 'Pray4Vocations'.
This prayer initiative ties in with the sentiments expressed by Pope Francis in his message for Vocations Sunday:
“I ask parish communities, associations and the many prayer groups present in the Church, not to yield to discouragement but to continue praying that the Lord will send workers to his harvest.”
The pontiff will be in Fatima next Saturday for the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima where he will canonise two of the visionaries of the Marian apparitions – Jacinta and Francisco Marto.
At the Vatican yesterday, Pope Francis ordained ten new priests while also announcing that his urgent prayer intention for the month of May is for vocations. He added:
“Vocations are born in prayer, and only in prayer can they persevere and bear fruit.”
Srs. Julie Doran, Patience Ezimigbo and Mary Crowley pictured with fellow participants of the special Vocations Sunday mass broadcast from the RTÉ Studios in Dublin. Image courtesy of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference Twitter page.
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