Vocations Events
Description of Vocations Events
Second Thursday Monthly Discernment Night
Monthly Discernment Night, held from 7:00 pm to 9:00 at Our Lady of Good Counsel every 2nd Thursday September – May.
The evening includes: Eucharistic Adoration, dinner & community to help men build fraternity, faith, & aid in discernment.
Who should attend: Young men in high school and older
Fall Dates:
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Thursday, November 9, 2023
Thursday, December 14, 2023
To RSVP, please email Fr. Rueb rueb@diocesekcsj.org
‘Come and See’ Dinners
John 1:45-46: Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth’.
But Nathanael said to him “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
Hang out with dynamic priests, eat a delicious free meal, pray in a transformative way, and open your heart to what will really fulfill you—following Jesus’ will in your life…all in a casual setting.
Who should attend: Young men in high school and older
Time: 7 PM
Location & Date:
St. Michael the Archangel | October 11, 2023
St. Joseph Cathedral | October 19, 2023
St. Andrew the Apostle | October 25, 2023 & April 3, 2023
Coronation | April 4, 2024
Want to attend a dinner? Contact Kelly Roper kroper@diocesekcsj.org to RSVP.
You may also sign up here.
Priests of the diocese – we need your help! If there is a young man in your ministerial assignment that you believe would make a quality priest, please invite them to join you at the “Come and See” dinner.
5th Grade Vocation Day
Fall Semester: BISHOP LEBLOND HIGH SCHOOL – October 23, 2023
Spring Semester: ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL – February 9, 2024
Who can attend?
All 5th grade students within the Diocese are welcome to attend. Students enrolled at Catholic schools within the diocese will be invited to attend with their class. At this time, we are not able to work directly with public schools to put on this event.
Members of the home-school community who would like to attend, please contact the Vocation Office directly in order to register.
I’d like to volunteer. How can I help?
In order to maintain a safe environment for all participants, many volunteers are needed to make this day a success. If you are interested in volunteering, contact the Vocation Office to see how you can help.
As a reminder, anyone who is volunteering around youths must complete a “Protecting God’s Children” course. Information on upcoming training can be found through the Office of Child and Youth Protection.
How can I sign up my child?
Catholic schools in the diocese will be contacted by the Vocation Office with the date their school will attend. Members of the home school community or those who attend public school who would like to attend should contact the Vocation Office directly. Please email Kelly Roper at kroper@diocesekcsj.org
“Quo Vadis” Retreat
Friday, February 2 -Sunday, February 4, 2023
“Where are you going?”
“Quo Vadis” translates to “Where are you going”: this weekend retreat is specifically organized to help young men answer this question, and other questions they might have about priesthood, seminary, and how to hear God’s voice in every day life.
Retreat Information:
Check-in is Friday 4:30 to 5:30 pm at the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist Retreat Center.
The retreat begins at 5:30 pm and will end by 11 am on Sunday.
Meals will be provided beginning with dinner on Friday and ending with breakfast on Sunday.
This is an overnight retreat. Please bring your own toiletries. Bedding (including pillows) is provided by the retreat center.
Cost: $30/person
Retreat Center: 2100 North Noland Road, Independence, MO 64050
To sign up or ask questions:
CLICK HERE to sign-up! (Coming soon!)
Contact Kelly Roper at kroper@diocesekcsj.org if you have any questions.
Encounter with God’s Call
November 11 -November 12, 2023
“What is Encounter?”
Encounter With God’s Call is a seminary discernment experience for high school juniors through recent college graduates (ages 16-25). During Encounter, the participants further discern the call to priesthood and learn about college seminary life. Throughout the weekend, participants pray, meet, and relax with seminarians. Together we all seek to listen for God’s voice and our call.
Plan for the Weekend:
Encounter begins on Saturday, November 11, 2023 and ends on Sunday, November 12, 2023.
Please RSVP by Wednesday, November 1. Contact Fr. Rueb at rueb@diocesekcsj.org or Kelly Roper at kroper@diocesekcsj.org.
Registration opens in the spring for the next event!
Pitching for Priests | Check back for 2024
Pitching for Priests is an annual softball game fundraiser played by priests from Kansas City – St. Joseph vs. Priests from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. The Vocations Office of both diocese benefit from the proceeds of this game.
For more information and tickets, visit the Catholic Radio Network website.
‘Following the Call’: Tomorrow’s Priest Collection
Saturday, May 18-Sunday, May 19, 2023
Updated Link coming soon: Donate Tomorrow’s Priest Collection here
2021 message from our Bishop:
During this Year of St. Joseph, I have been entrusting our seminarians to his intercession and encouraging them to look to Joseph as a model for the fatherhood they are aspiring to live.
This year we had twenty-two young men in seminary studies for our Diocese. We will be ordaining three of those men to the priesthood on May 29 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. While not open to the public, a live stream of the ordination Mass will be available through our Diocesan website and social media. I invite you to watch and pray for our newest priests.
The cost of seminary education is among the largest expenses we have as a Diocese, but also one of the greatest investments we can make. With tuition, room, board and other expenses, the cost of educating a seminarian is about $45,000 per year. When you multiply that amount by the number of seminarians, it creates an annual expense of roughly a million dollars in seminary education every year.
Each May the Diocese takes up a special collection, the “Tomorrow’s Priest” Fund, which is essential to offsetting this expense. I am grateful for your past generosity with this collection. Any amount you might be able to provide in this moment would be of great help. In addition to your financial support, please continue to pray to the Lord that he will increase the number of men from our Diocese who are being called to the priesthood. The ‘harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few’ as the evangelist tells us.
I keep you all consistently in my prayer, and may God bless you.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr.
Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
Ordinations to the transitional diaconate and to the priesthood are usually held in May-June or December-January, and are open to the public.
Upcoming ordinations:
- May 18, 2024: Transitional Diaconate Ordination
- May 25, 2024: Priestly Ordination
