NATIONAL OFFICE FOR VOCATION
Helping people hear God's call
VOCATIONS SUNDAY
VOCATIONS SUNDAY
Sunday 21st April
61st World Day of Prayer for Vocations
"CALLED TO SOW SEEDS OF HOPE AND TO BUILD PEACE"
Welcome
In 1964, Pope Paul VI, launched the Vocations Sunday, which since then we celebrate on the fourth Sunday of Easter, also called as Good Shepherd Sunday. This year it is on the 21st April 2024, which marks the 61st Anniversary of World Day of Prayer for Vocations.
As Catholics and people of God we all know that God is calling us and has a plan for each of us. He called each of us by name through our Baptism to holiness. He continues to call and cry out to us each day to be his disciples, some to the married life, some to the priesthood or the diaconate, some to religious life or to live as kind single people. Everybody is called! What is God calling you to?
Along with the whole Church, let us pray for vocations today. Let us take time to stir the hearts and minds of the people around us to think about the topic of Vocation. The National Office for Vocation (NOV) invites you to talk and encourage children, young people, grandchildren, students, family members to respond generously to the calling of the Lord.
Vocations Sunday Prayer
God our Loving Father,
you called each of us by name through the Sacrament of Baptism to holiness.
Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, you made us the temples of the Holy Spirit.
Help us to listen to the cry of our Lord Jesus from the Holy Cross ‘I thirst’
and respond to the call
‘Go out to the whole world and proclaim the good news to all the nations’.
Guide us in every step we take in life
and lead us in every decision we make in responding to your call.
Make us and mould us into the living images of Christ your Son,
who was always close to those in need.
We make this prayer through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
Vocations Sunday Message
Pope Francis
Pastoral Letter
Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP
Vocations Sunday Video
Watch our Vocations Sunday 2024 taster video.
The Conversation
Wednesday 17th April, 7:30pm
Virtually on Zoom
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Thinking more about vocation?
Love hearing individual stories talking about mission and discipleship?
Join us for 'The Conversation', where we have a panel of guests to discuss how they live out their vocation and the work they carry out in the Church. See how each person is called to follow Christ in their own discipleship journey and live out their mission.
Our Panel
Holly Carlsson
Married, Joel's Bar Lead
Holly is married to Julian and mum to Ollie. She has been serving in Youth Ministry for the last 9 years and is working now as the Joel's Bar Lead. Joel's Bar is the young adults ministry of CELEBRATE Trust which has run Catholic Charismatic events for the last 28 years serving those aged 16-28. Holly is passionate about parish renewal, building community and most recently, Tiktok(!).
Fr Mark Odion
Missionary Society of St Paul & Policy and Research CBCEW
Rev. Fr. Mark Ehichioya Odion hails from Uromi in Edo State, Nigeria. He is the first in the family of five children. After his higher studies, he commenced his journey priesthood at the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul, Iperu-Remo, Ogun State in 1992 where he did his noviciate for two years. He continued his priestly formation at the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul, Gwagwalada, Abuja where he studied Philosophy and Theology for seven years. In December 2000 he incardinated into the Missionary Society of St. Paul and was ordained a Catholic Priest in July 2001.
Subsequently, he worked in Nigeria for four years and in 2005, he was sent on foreign mission to the UK. In the UK, he worked as assistant Dean at St. George’s Cathedral, Southwark Archdiocese from 2005 to 2009. He was appointed Parish Priest of the Annunciation and St Augustine of Hippo Catholic Church, Beckenham Hill from 2009 to 2015. In 2015, The General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) seconded him to work with the Home Office, in the office of the first UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, on the Nigeria Anti-Trafficking Project. In this capacity, he worked with partners to formulate a new strategic anti-slavery initiative in Nigeria. He facilitated the development of a project plan that provided support for people from the endemic areas of human trafficking in Nigeria. He led a team in scoping out community engagement on awareness programs and livelihood projects to prevent human trafficking from Nigeria to the United Kingdom. Currently at the CBCEW, he works in the Policy and Research Department. He is the current Regional Superior of the Missionary Society of St. Paul, UK Region. He loves reading, preaching, traveling and contemplation. He loves to spread God’s message of peace, love, and goodness.
Greg Finn
Founder of the Mark 10 Mission
Greg worked as a Catholic primary school teacher for 8 years and now leads The Mark 10 Mission full time. He was inspired to create The Mark 10 Mission to help school children encounter God in their classrooms and help them to pray each day. His initial prayer of how to bring the little children to Jesus (Mark 10:14) is the cornerstone of the ministry. Greg has recently completed Level One Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training with the Dominican Sisters in Limerick.
Sr Patricia (Pat) Dowling CBS
Sister of Bon Secours and International Vocation Director
Meet Sister Pat Dowling, a Sister of Bon Secours and international vocation director based in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She advises the congregation leadership on vocation ministry and supports Bon Secours vocation directors worldwide, including England, where she has spent extended time. Her diverse experiences range from being a nursing home administrator to a missionary in Ecuador’s Andean mountains as a parish administrator and overseeing a health and dental clinic she founded.
State-side, she established a women’s resource centre in a struggling urban area and then served as the USA vocation director. Advocating for years for the "preferential option for the young”, Sr Pat realized her vision in what became Bon Secours Young Adults (BSYA) in 2014. Since hiring Nicholas Stein as the first young adult ministry leader, BSYA has expanded internationally with Nick now its international director. Chris Knowles is now establishing BSYA in England, based in Liverpool.
Sr Pat's passion for helping people discover God’s calling takes her worldwide, including accompanying young people and BSYAs to World Youth Days. Beyond her work, she enjoys movies, historical novels, spontaneous adventures, and connecting with people, drawing on her pre-Bon Secours hotelier experience. Bringing God’s compassion, healing, and liberation to the world is the beating heart of Bon Secours (Good Help). Bonus Fun Fact: peek at Hearts Aflame, a recent book she was editor-in-chief of.
Fr Paul Kyne
Parish Priest of St Lawrence of Canterbury Church, Sidcup
Vocation Director, Archdiocese of Southwark
Fr Paul Kyne is the Director of Vocations and Parish Priest of St Lawrence of Canterbury Church, Sidcup. He also serves on the Diocesan Property Health & Safety Committee due to a career in engineering and construction prior to priesthood. Born and raised in London however widely travelled through work and leisure endeavours including many years living and working in Australia. Hobbies include keeping fit at a leisurely pace and following Arsenal Football Club.
Anna Jordan
Head of Mission and Partnerships at Youth 2000
Anna is Head of Mission and Partnerships at Youth 2000; a Catholic ministry that provides opportunities for young people to encounter Christ and His Church, through retreats and formation programmes. Originally from Lancashire, she moved to Sheffield in 2023 and is enjoying the vibrant young Catholic community there. Anna is passionate about equipping young people to be disciples, and loves cooking, travelling, reading, and spending time with friends.
Dr Phil McCarthy
Project Lead - Hearts in Search of God Pilgrimage Project
Phil was a GP in Bristol for many years. He held numerous leadership positions within the NHS and was Clinical Lead for the Bristol Homeless Health Service. In December 2015 he took up the role of CEO of Caritas Social Action Network, the domestic social action agency of the Catholic Church in England & Wales.
He has been interested in long distance walking for many years and in 2008 he walked from Canterbury to Rome alone.
This experience awakened an interest in pilgrimage and made him realise that he was a pilgrim! In 2015 he walked on from Rome to Istanbul. He has written books about both pilgrimages. He is now leading a three-year project to promote walking pilgrimage in England & Wales by developing pilgrim ways from every Catholic cathedral to one or more shrines in the same diocese.
Sr Walburga OSB
Benedictine Sister of Minster Abbey
Prior to becoming a nun Sister Walburga was a Social Worker in Leicestershire. Following her conversion to Catholicism she felt God calling her to monastic life and became a nun at Minster Abbey in Kent. She finds her daily life of community, prayer and hospitality, as well as the Benedictine vows, help her to give herself more fully to God. Sr Walburga enjoys sewing, cataloging books, gardening and working with the Abbey sheep. She is passionate about sharing her experiences of coming to faith and discerning her vocation.
'The Conversation' takes place on Zoom, in order to attain the link please book (FREE!) using the above link. Come with your questions to ask the panel on all things vocation and discipleship. All questions will be submitted through the chat function in the Zoom call. If you want to submit questions beforehand to make sure they reach us please email us at vocation.enquiries@cbcew.org.uk
Please note the event is only open to those residing in the United Kingdom.
We look forward to welcoming you to the evening!
Vocation Story
Each person has their own unique vocation story to tell, from the journey into the faith, to choosing a particular career and into their individual state of life (single, married, priest, deacon or religious).
Read here a beautiful vocation testimony from a Permanent Deacon in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.
Vocations Rosary Prayer
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The National Office for Vocation invites you to join us in praying for vocations to serve in our Church.
Where would we be, without our priests and religious?
The life of a consecrated person is totally given over to God and his work. They are “set apart” for God. It is a radical giving of one’s life, dreams, time, ambitions, energies, loves, and talents for the service of their brothers and sisters in the world through so many different ministries and charisms.
Use this Rosary to help you reflect on where God is calling you.
Prayer Resource Downloads
Marian Prayer for Vocations
Vocation Prayer 'I Thirst'
Children's Prayer
Prayer for Seminarians
Prayer for Deacons
Parents Prayer
