WASHINGTON – “Vocations are a sign of God’s free gift of merciful love to a world in need of salvation,” said Archbishop Ronald A. Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, in anticipation of the World Day of Prayer for Vocations on April 26. “We join in prayer for all disciples of Christ, especially young people, to experience the loving God, the Good Shepherd, who has a unique call for each person’s life,” he continued. 

In conjunction with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the USCCB’s Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations released the Ordination Class of 2026 Study conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University. According to this survey, four in five ordinands reported regular participation in Eucharistic adoration before entering the seminary. The full CARA report and profiles of the Ordination Class of 2026 may be found here.   

In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Leo XIV extends an invitation to all, not just clergy and those in religious life, to commit to creating conditions that allow the gift of vocations to be embraced, nourished, protected and accompanied, so that it may bear abundant fruit. “Only when our surroundings are illumined by living faith, sustained by constant prayer and enriched by fraternal accompaniment can God’s call blossom and mature, becoming a path of happiness and salvation for individuals and for the world,” he says. 

This year’s CARA report was sent out to the 428 men scheduled to be ordained this year. 334 completed the survey for an overall response rate of 78%. These ordinands represent 110 U.S. dioceses and eparchies and 34 distinct religious institutes.

A few of the major findings of the report are:

• In regard to prayer practices before entering the seminary, ordinands participated in Eucharistic Adoration (81%) on a regular basis, praying the Rosary (79%), participated in a prayer/Bible group (52%), and prayed Lectio Divina (48%).
• Most of the ordinands received formation at a seminary in the Midwest (35%), in the Northeast (28%), South (19%), West (14%), and abroad (5%).
• Nine in ten responding ordinands (92%) reported being encouraged to consider the priesthood by someone in their life, most frequently by a parish priest (70%), friend (49%), or parishioner (44%).
• Hispanics/Latinos constituted 17% of the responding ordinands. They represented 14% of ordinands in religious institutes and 18% of ordinands to the diocesan priesthood.
• Most respondents (93%) were baptized Catholic as an infant and raised primarily by their biological parents (97%) and a married couple living together (88%).

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During the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, Leo praised his predecessor’s concern for the poor and his message of mercy and fraternity.

Under Spanish sovereignty for nearly two centuries, Spain’s legacy in Equatorial Guinea endures to this day.

Prompted by others and feeling a stirring within himself, Brother Juan Daza, after 40 years of service as a religious, responded to a call to the priesthood and was ordained to the priesthood at 64.

Addressing authorities, civil society and members of the diplomatic corps in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV invites those gathered to reject exclusion, uphold human dignity, and orient development towards the common good rather than power and profit.

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Pope Leo XIV visits Equatorial Guinea on April 21 — his last stop on an 11-day, four-nation African apostolic journey that also included Algeria, Cameroon, and Angola.

On the first anniversary of Pope Francis’ death, we remember the late pontiff and some of the most significant moments of his papacy.

Aboard the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV recalls his predecessor Pope Francis on the first anniversary of his death, saying the late Pope “gave so much through his life and his closeness to the poor.”

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On the flight from Angola to Equatorial Guinea, Pope Leo XIV answers questions from three Angolan journalists, assuring them he spoke to the president about a joint effort between the Church and the Angolan government in the fields of healthcare and education.

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Ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s arrival to the Psychiatric Hospital in Malabo, staff members tell Vatican News that the visit will send a “very strong” message on the importance of mental health care.

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