Seminarian Education collection provides critical funding to meet tremendous growth in vocations

SUEANN HOWELL sahowell@charlottediocese.org

CHARLOTTE — The number of men studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Charlotte has tripled in the past seven years, creating a greater need for funding to support these 49 seminarians.

The Seminarian Education Collection taken up in all parishes at Easter, April 8-9, is one of the primary ways people can support seminarians and foster vocations to help meet the growing need for priests to serve the growing Catholic population.

The past 10 years have seen remarkable growth in the diocese: a 26% increase, from 58,500 registered households a decade ago to 73,700 in 2020. By 2025, diocesan officials project the number of registered households to be 86,800.

“For the past 25 years, the Seminarian Education Campaign has given faithful Catholics the opportunity to invest in the lives and ministry of our future priests,” said Bishop Peter Jugis in his annual letter to the faithful.

In the past decade, 20 priests have retired. Fourteen priests are already serving beyond the retirement age of 70. In the next 10 years, another 31 priests are expected to reach retirement age.

“Your financial gift will help prepare each of our young men to serve as priests in our diocese for an average of 40 years,” Bishop Jugis said.