Ask a newly ordained priest about the factors that influenced his vocation and expect to receive a variety of answers.

Responses range from prayer, encouragement from a parishioner, family or clergy member, an inner calling from God, a retreat, a seminary visit or youth group participation.

For most, a multitude of factors come into play. And it’s no different for the five men who were to be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Columbus on Saturday, May 18 at Columbus St. Andrew Church by Bishop Earl Fernandes.

Each of the five share some commonalities in their vocation stories. But two of them are a little more intertwined.

Fathers Tyler Carter and Michael Haemmerle have the same home church, which is Columbus St. Patrick. Both were altar servers for the parish and each of them followed less traditional education paths.

St. Patrick has proved to be a seedbed for vocations in the diocese. At one point a few years ago, nearly a quarter of the diocesan seminarians considered St. Patrick their home parish.

One is already ordained and serving as a priest in the diocese. Another is a seminarian still in formation.

A number of young men and women who grew up in the downtown parish have gone on to join religious orders. Many of them were impacted by the preaching and witness of the Dominican Friars who have served at the parish since 1885. 

St. Patrick offers a robust altar serving program that has included more than 100 young men at various points. In an effort to foster vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the parish follows Church tradition in allowing only boys to serve at the altar. They receive extensive training in serving the Mass and have the opportunity to see behind the scenes, so to speak, what’s like for priests to offer the sacraments to the faithful.  

The impact of altar serving on vocations is not limited to St. Patrick. An annual national study commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops confirms its importance.

Each year, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., conducts a survey of men who will be ordained to the priesthood. The results from the 2024 class showed that 71 percent of the respondents were altar servers before entering the seminary.  

“Serving helps to get that interest because (servers) get to see the priest up close and work with him and get inspired,” Father Carter said. “In my case, I already felt drawn to the priesthood. So it’s like a logical progression.

“(But) to start serving at the altar and be closer to the mystery of the Mass, for me it was very formative, and for a lot of priests it seems to be (too).”

It stands to reason then that altar serving apostolates like St. Patrick’s and the Knights of the Holy Temple program for male servers at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle Church can play an important role in religious vocations.

Being an altar server is “a great source of vocations,” said Father Stephen Alcott, OP, pastor at St. Patrick. “We have two of our parishioners being ordained to the priesthood and in recent years we’ve had Father Seth Keller.

“We’ve had more diocesan vocations recently than Dominicans, but we’ve also had some (Dominican seminarians and priests) pass through here, and there are also a number of sisters from here and some women in the parish who are currently information with religious congregations of sisters.” 

Similarly, the Handmaids of the Eucharist program at St. Paul Church, where young women are trained to serve as sacristans, could have the same effect on girls considering a life of service to the Church as religious sisters. 

Part of the training includes the development of a good prayer life that ultimately could lead to a religious vocation. The CARA study shows that to be true. In this year’s survey, 75 percent of the newly ordained said they went to Eucharistic Adoration in a regular basis, 71 percent prayed the rosary and 50 percent attended a prayer or Bible study group.

Included among the many questions in the CARA survey is educational background.

Fathers Carter and Haemmerle followed somewhat less traditional educational paths. Father Carter attended the faithfully independent Mater Dei Academy on Columbus’ east side through middle school before graduating from Columbus Bishop Watterson High School. Father Haemmerle was homeschooled until heading off to Ohio State University to pursue an engineering degree.

Their school experience reflects a wider national trend. According to the CARA survey, 10 percent of this year’s ordained priests reported being homeschooled (average length of homeschooling was eight years). CARA projects that number to rise to 13 percent by 2029.

As for the influence of Catholic schools, 31 percent of this year’s ordination class attended a Catholic high school and the same percentage went to a Catholic college. 

To learn more about the CARA study and the responses from seminarians being ordained around the country in 2024, visit https://www.usccb.org/resources/Ordination%20Class%20of%202024%20-%20report_0.pdf.

Pray for the newly ordained in the diocese and around the world to be good and holy priests while continuing to ask Our Lord and His Blessed Mother for more vocations to serve the Church.