For men feeling the call to priesthood, discernment is a process that takes time and support from those around them. Groups like the Melchizedek Project serve as an opportunity for high school through young-adult age men to come together and be open to where God might be calling them.
The Melchizedek Project began making its way across dioceses in the United States in 2012, shortly after the publication of the book To Save a Thousand Souls by Father Brett Brannen in 2010.
Father Michael Haemmerle, director of priestly vocations for the Columbus diocese, shared that the program has been successful locally. Currently, 10 groups meet on average once a month for dinner and discussion. In the last year alone, six of the seven seminarians who entered formation for the Diocese of Columbus participated in these groups.
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The evenings present young men from high school to young adulthood a chance to ask questions about being a priest, share fears they might be experiencing, and have an avenue to normalize thinking and talking about a possible call to the priesthood.
“Mostly, what it is good for is that it is a regular conversation and face time with a priest and other guys who are discerning,” Father Haemmerle said. “So, it makes discernment normal. It brings up some good conversations, and a lot of times, what one guy is experiencing then helps other guys discern well.”
The groups generally read one of three books each year in rotation, focused on helping young men learn more about the priesthood but also to help open up discussion in groups. Books include To Save a Thousand Souls by Father Brannen, Priest for the Third Millenium by Blessed Fulton Sheen and The Priest is Not His Own by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Justin Fagge, a current seminarian in his fifth year at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, shared some of his experience participating in a Melchizedek Project group and reading through the book, To Save a Thousand Souls.
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“As we went through each section of the book, (the priests leading the group) shared about how they experienced the call to the priesthood, which looks a little different for everyone,” he said. “They shared stories about seminary and answered any question I had.”
Fagge participated in the group for most of his senior year of high school before entering seminary after graduation. On one particular evening with the group, Fagge had the opportunity to meet Father Brannen.
“I had a seminarian, a young parochial vicar and an experienced spiritual director all to myself,” he recalled. “It was really cool to hear the chapters about discernment explained from the mouth of the author.”
Matthew Waldman, also a seminarian for the diocese, anticipating ordination to the transitional diaconate in March 2027 and priesthood in May 2028, shared how the group was very impactful, especially as he was “very much leaning toward not pursuing the priesthood” at the time.
Waldman offered advice for men potentially discerning a call to the priesthood.
“Discernment can be a rollercoaster. Sometimes the call to the priesthood can be very gradual, as it was for me. The first ‘yes’ to enter seminary is often associated with the mindset, ‘I will definitely become a priest,’” he noted.
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“Instead, the first ‘yes’ is a ‘yes’ to discern the priesthood more intently and with greater seriousness and vigor. If the Lord is tugging on your heart, go to the seminary. No matter what, you will leave the seminary, whether as priest or not, a better man and father.”
There is still a need for more seminarians to meet the future needs of the diocese. To replace the anticipated priest retirements in the coming years, the diocese needs an average of 55 men in seminary at a time, making the diocese’s current number, 40 seminarians, 15 short.
This Vocations Awareness Week (Nov. 1-7), consider praying in a particular way for an increase in vocations. Father Haemmerle suggested establishing regular prayer on Thursdays for this need, given it was on Holy Thursday that Christ instituted the priesthood at the Last Supper.
“There is still an urgency to promote vocations,” Father Haemmerle encouraged. “Prayer is so important. The more we pray, the more vocations we will get.”
To learn more about the Melchizedek Project and find group meeting locations, visit the diocese’s vocations website: Discern | Find a Melchizedek Project Near You.
The Diocese of Columbus celebrates Vocations Awareness Week Nov. 1-7. To learn more, visit Live the Incredible | Columbus Catholic Vocations.