By Gina Christian
OSV News
An annual observance centered on vocations is a moment for prayer and rededication to helping young people find their place in God’s plan, Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, said.
“With fervor … let us pray and renew our commitment to journey with and encourage young people as they discover the hope God has placed in their hearts through discerning how he has called them to be witnesses of the love ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,'” Bishop Boyea said, quoting Romans 5:5.
The bishop, who serves as chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations, issued an Oct. 15 statement ahead of National Vocation Awareness Week, which the nation’s Catholics will mark Nov. 2-8.
Launched in 1976 by the U.S. bishops, the observance was moved in 1997 to coincide with the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in January, then returned in 2014 to the first full week in November.
Regardless of scheduling, the goal of National Vocations Awareness Week remains timeless and crucial — and the aim is a whole-of-Church effort, the USCCB said in its Oct. 15 media release containing Bishop Boyea’s statement.
“Each year, national Catholic organizations, dioceses, schools, and local parish communities sponsor events and provide different resources to raise awareness for vocations, and help those who are discerning a vocation, particularly one to ordained ministry or consecrated life,” the USCCB said.
The USCCB’s website includes a dedicated page with resources for National Vocations Awareness Week — available in both English and Spanish — including prayers, handouts, and bulletin inserts, a recommended reading list for those discerning a vocation, and links to helpful ministries and organizations.
The Catholic Church defines a vocation — from the Latin word “vocare,” meaning “to call” — as “the calling or destiny we have in this life and hereafter.”
Laity are intended to shape temporal affairs in accord with God’s will, while priestly and religious vocations “are dedicated to the service of the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation,” states the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us celebrate all who have responded to God’s call whether to serve as husbands, wives, parents, priests, and others as ordained ministers, or consecrated persons,” Bishop Boyea said.
He quoted a June 24 meditation Pope Leo XIV offered during the Jubilee of Seminarians, in which the pope said, “If you cultivate your heart through daily periods of silence, meditation, and prayer, you will learn the art of discernment. “
In that meditation, Pope Leo stressed the importance of “learning discernment,” since young hearts in particular can “overflow with desires, dreams, and ambitions,” often rendering them “overwhelmed and bewildered.”
By following the example set by Mary, the pope said, “we will surely learn to keep all those things in our heart and meditate on them.”
Cutline for featured image: A young woman prays July 19, 2024, during the third revival night of the National Eucharistic Congress at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. In a statement Oct. 15, 2025, Bishop Earl A. Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, encouraged prayer and a renewed commitment to journey with young people in their vocations during National Vocation Awareness Week Nov. 2-8. Bishop Boyea is chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)
