When Father Parker Thompson walked through the doors of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Frisco for his ordination last year, the occasion marked the grand culmination of years of prayer, discernment, and formation, according to the priest’s parents, Kathi and Bryan Thompson.
Vocations
Nick’s parents, Amy and Corey Weiss, reminisced on this journey from childhood whimsy to God-given vocation and divulged their own experience of accompanying a child through the discernment process.
In a decades-old family photo, an infant Julie Elizabeth Martin — now Sister Juliana Guadalupe, S.V. — is bundled in pink and tucked snuggly into a stroller. Then one month old, the young Martin is pictured alongside her parents and brother during a pro-life rally at the Rhode Island State House.
Sixty-four young men representing 46 different schools and 27 parishes across the Diocese of Dallas gathered May 31 for the 2025 Calling of Andrew: Venite et Videte Retreat, an immersive weekend designed to help them prayerfully discern whether God may be calling them to the priesthood.
God’s love, mercy, and goodness lie at the foundation of every vocation, including that of the pope, Pope Leo XIV said.
The number of Catholics and permanent deacons in the world rose in 2023, while the number of seminarians, priests, men and women in religious orders, and baptisms all declined, according to Vatican statistics.
In the November 2024 edition of Diocese in the News, we highlight the amazing support for Catholic schools in the…
After Jesus’ Resurrection, the last chapter of John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples as they were fishing. The disciples had been fishing all night and had caught nothing, but Jesus came into their midst and asked them to try once more: “Cast the net over the right side of the boat, and you will find something.” The disciples trusted Christ and put their effort behind that trust, and they filled their nets that day. It is with this same confidence that we embark again on our shared mission to promote priestly and religious vocations.
In recognition of the devotion and service of religious women within the Diocese of Dallas, the diocese will host its Jubilee Celebration Oct. 5 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Holy Family of Nazareth Catholic Church in Irving. Bishop Edward J. Burns and Auxiliary Bishop Greg Kelly will concelebrate the commemorative Mass, which will honor women who have served the Church through their religious vocations for 25, 60, or 70 years.
Sister Juliana Guadalupe, S.V., began her journey of faith with friends in high school and watched it grow with spiritual direction from peers and priests at Southern Methodist University. On Aug. 6, she continued that journey as one of 10 women who professed their perpetual vows as Sisters of Life at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.