This was the moment the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis ordained its largest class of priests in 19 years.
For the archdiocese, it was a day of joy as well as a sign of hope following difficult times.
FR. JOSEPH TAPHORN
Rector, St. Paul Seminary
The archdiocese here has been through a lot in recent years and bankruptcy and Archbishop Hebda was sent in as an interim and became the archbishop here, recently called the synod a couple of years ago. And so there's really been just kind of a new sense of life and vitality and excitement. Turning a page, in a sense and, I think, seeing so many men ordained to the priesthood—I think one of the largest in the country this spring—was maybe just kind of a sense of God is really blessing the local church.
13 men were ordained to the priesthood with 11 coming from the St. Paul Seminary. Fr. Taphorn attributes many reasons for the increase in men this year: from family life to the faith programs and ministries available to young men.
FR. JOSEPH TAPHORN
Rector, St. Paul Seminary
In general, I would just say vocations are strong and healthy in this archdiocese. I do think a lot of it has to do with this sense of turning the page. I think this has also been really a center where the Church is very alive in renewal movements. So there's just been a great kind of tradition here. There's great evangelistic outreaches here, NET teams, National Evangelization Teams, St. Paul's Outreach are home here in this archdiocese.
While ordination numbers might not be on the rise in the U.S. as a whole, the average age of these men is dropping. Half the men being ordained priests this year are 31 years old or younger—3 years younger than in 1999.
KG
