{"id":171609,"date":"2025-05-22T05:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?p=171609"},"modified":"2025-05-23T14:48:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T18:48:41","slug":"national-vocation-summit-2025-casting-a-wider-net","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/national-vocation-summit-2025-casting-a-wider-net\/","title":{"rendered":"National Vocation Summit 2025: Casting a Wider Net"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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This March, the third annual National Vocation Summit, held at the Legion of Christ Seminary in Cheshire, Connecticut, drew over 100 people from all over the United States and Canada who gathered to learn from expert speakers and from each other how to collaborate in building a vocation culture in their own families, school, and parishes. Participants included lay people and representatives from nine different religious congregations interested in, or already active in, supporting the promotion of vocations and encouraging young people to respond generously to God\u2019s call. There were also two locality Regnum Christi directors in attendance: Tony Frese, from Atlanta, Georgia, and Jane Nagel from Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\n

The theme of this year\u2019s National Vocations Summit was \u201cCasting a Wider Net.\u201d Summit speakers included Dr. Andrew Lichtenwalner, director of the Office of Evangelization and Discipleship in the Archdiocese of Atlanta; Jackie Couture-Gonzales, national director of Vocation Action Network; Fr. John VanDorpe, LC, regional vocation director for the Legionaries of Christ in Atlanta, Georgia; Fr. Martin Connor, LC, national vocation director of the Legionaries of Christ; and Fr. Shawn Aaron, LC, the North American territorial director.<\/p>\n

The summit also included panels, workshops, Eucharistic adoration for vocations, and Mass celebrated by Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt, Auxiliary Biship for the Archdiocese of Hartford.<\/p>\n

The keynote address, titled \u201cAn Experience of Building a Vocation Culture,\u201d was given by Stephen D. Minnis,<\/b> president of Benedictine College. Several years ago, while putting together the strategic plan at Benedictine, the question was asked: \u2018What concerns people the most about America?\u2019 The answer, shares Minnis, was the culture<\/i>, one of loneliness, hopelessness, faithlessness, and truthlessness, which has permeated the youth of today in an impactful way. The response of Benedictine College, and the mission of the National Vocation Summit, is to work to form leaders, educators, and members of diocesan and religious communities to begin to transform that culture into a culture of vocations, in which all people can recognize and answer God\u2019s call in their own lives.<\/p>\n