Inspired by the charism of Regnum Christi to equip and send out apostles, the National Vocation Summit gathers Christian leaders with a heart for vocations and a desire to help the next generation become vocation apostles. Rooted in the holy Eucharist and working effectively in teams, the Summit communicates to the younger members of the Church this message: God has a plan for you, and we want to help you discover it!
The National Vocation Summit seeks to build a true vocation culture in any Christ-centered community in the Church, building leadership teams of committed vocation apostles. The summit aspires that all participants leave with a greater dependence on the Lord of the Harvest (Lk 10:2), a renewed love for the Church, zeal for their common mission, and an ever deeper hope in Christ and his grace for their lives.
From March 13 to 15, the Legionaries of Christ seminary in Cheshire, Connecticut, hosted the 5th annual National Vocation Summit. Over 50 religious, priests and consecrated were present from over 20 different communities, with a total of 140 participants. The sold-out event was marked by a deep spirit of collaboration and love for the Church, inspiring the participants to build a culture of vocation wherever God has placed them—home, school, or parish.
The event was sponsored by Vocation Action Network, a network of apostles who pray and take action to help build a vocation culture within the Church and society.
Apostles of Hope in an Apostolic Age
The theme of this year’s summit was “Awakening Apostles of Hope,” and Monsignor James Shea, president of the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, gave the opening keynote address, titled “Apostles of Hope in an Apostolic Age.” For Monsignor Shea, to make oneself wholeheartedly and generously available to God takes radical hope. Hope, then, is the central theme of vocational discernment.
That hope is in very short supply in this ambient culture, says Monsignor Shea, which has often been labeled “post-Christian.” However, this era offers unique signs of hope, and it is in times like these that the Church can flourish, and that the virtue of hope continues to be the foundation of vocations.
“In order to make your life available to God, in order to know that the stakes are so high that you’re willing to do whatever he asks, in order to know that deep down, and assent to it, you have to have that kind of supernatural hope that locates happiness in the Kingdom of God and in eternal life, and not in the things of this world. If he called me, would I go? It’s a question of hope.”
“And that’s the kind of hope which allows us to make our lives available to God, which causes us to be able to say, ‘Whatever it is, whatever he calls, whatever he wants, that’s what I’ll do. I would say yes. Yes, I would say yes.”
Other speakers and panelists at this year’s summit included Legionary priests Fr. Edward Hopkins and Fr. John VanDorpe; and Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi Tammy Grady, Laura Matthews, and Gaëtane Auger. Thomas Wurtz, who is finishing his 25th year in FOCUS, serves as senior director of Affinity Outreach and Digital Outreach and is the directing founder Varsity Catholic, FOCUS’ outreach to college athletes. He gave the closing keynote on finding hope in the universal call to holiness.
Building a Culture of Vocations, Together
Besides learning from vocation action speakers, participants at the three-day event had the opportunity to connect to a network of vocation apostles across North America. They left inspired and equipped to build a dynamic vocation culture in their local parishes and dioceses.
Fr. Martin Connor, LC, is the national vocation director for the North American Territory, and he believes that initiatives like the National Vocation Summit are critical now more than ever.
“In the words of St. John Paul II, we live in an anti-vocational culture,”
“and collaboration across all sectors of the Church is essential to rebuild a true vocation culture. We need to be bridge-builders of trust and confidence in God as we evangelize the secular culture.”
Indeed, in recent years, there has been a decline in the number of Catholic priests and seminarians, particularly in North America, leading to the amalgamation and even closing of parishes due to a lack of clergy. Fr. Joseph Brickner, LC, who serves as vocation director for the South and Southwest United States, keeps with him a unique reminder of the importance of his work to address this vocational crisis.
“One might think this a bit strange, but I carry around a piece of brick in the car I use, right there in the console. It is from a local Catholic church near my hometown. It was a beautiful, thriving little country parish, with hand-carved altars, fine stained-glass windows, and, more importantly, folks who grew in their relationship with Christ there. I grabbed a piece of brick a number of years ago as the church sat in a pile of rubble, just to remind myself what happens when there are not enough priests. The Eucharist is no longer celebrated there, nor weddings, nor baptisms, nor funerals…. With no priest, there’s no church, and no means to connect with Christ. This is my motivation.”
To Form and Launch Apostles
The charism of Regnum Christi to form and launch apostles means that consecrated members and Legionary priests like Fr. Martin and Fr. Joseph serve always with a “vocation-minded spirit,” helping people find their unique mission in life and live it.
“As a priest, I have worked in many different ministries over the years, including vocations. It is a special grace to walk with a young man who is called by God to the religious life and the priesthood. They are out there, and God is calling them! We—clerical and lay—need to do our part in ‘sowing the seed!’”
This year’s event was sold out, and over the upcoming years, the National Vocation Summit team envisions uniting, forming, and sending out hundreds of priests, consecrated, and lay vocation apostles to impact the culture in five specific areas:
- Focusing every form of vocational discernment on Eucharistic Adoration and an authentic sacramental life
- Elevating the gravitas of the universal call to holiness for all baptized (Lumen gentium 4:39-41)
- Making the topic of one’s vocation a mainstream conversation beginning with the family
- Accompanying and equipping leaders to help young men and women to discern and fulfill God’s plan in their lives
- Bringing greater unity in vocation work across all sectors of Church life, resulting in a vocational plenitude of holy Catholic priests, consecrated, and marriages
The team hopes that the National Vocation Summit will grow in attendance with missionaries and youth leaders, inviting them to live their universal call to holiness.
Save the date for next year’s summit!
Next year’s summit will be hosted by Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, March 10–12, 2027.
To find out more, visit nationalvocationsummit.org.
Feeling a deeper call?
To learn more about discernment to the Legionary priesthood or consecrated life within Regnum Christi, visit Discernment – Legionaries of Christ or Discernment – Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi.
