The Diocese of Gaylord has officially listed its new seminarians starting this fall. Five new seminarians are listed on the website (https://gaylordvocations.org/seminarians/ ). This is in addition to the seven seminarians that have more than one year of training thus far.
There were no ordinations to the priesthood this year. In fact, there have not been any ordinations to the Diocese of Gaylord for more than 3 years. One seminarian is scheduled to be ordained next year.
The current class of first year entrants to seminary training represents a significant increase in the number of men training for the priesthood. However, the journey is a long one; a good number of prospective priests have dropped out of the seminary over the past 10 years. Furthermore, there is an acute shortage of priests in the Diocese. That shortage is expected to be amplified significantly over the next 5 years. Even if these five seminarians make it to ordination, this will be well after many more priests have retired and/or passed away. Although the Diocese has tried to bring in foreign priests to meet the demand, the many years of little to no vocations, coupled with a dearth of inspiration from bishops, priests, and general society to pursue the priesthood, have left a void that will be impossible to fill without supernatural intervention. In a nutshell, the new prospective vocations are great but many more are needed for the Diocese.
Secrecy abounds when a seminarian leaves before ordination. Therefore, it is hard to know why men drop out of the seminary. It is our hope that this has been thoroughly studied. Gaylord Diocesan Watch believes that any seminarian that leaves training and any priest that leaves the priesthood should be thoroughly reviewed and accountability be demanded as to who approved their application for seminary and who ordained them. The cost of seminary training is borne on the faithful of the Diocese; the loss of an ordained priest to the secular world is tragic.
We wish these seminarians well and that they have a true and holy vocation that will bring souls to heaven.