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Brooklyn Priests

Inviting young men to consider the Lord’s call to the priesthood in the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens.

FROM OUR BISHOP

Dear Friends in Christ

It is my pleasure to welcome you to our Brooklyn Priests website. As you visit this site, think of our Lord, who continues to remind us, “The Harvest is Rich and Laborers are few. Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send more Laborers into His Harvest.”

St. Pope John Paul II, in preparation for the celebration for the year 2000, invited the whole Church to participate in the “New Evangelization.” Part of the New Evangelization is finding new means and using media to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Part of that proclamation is inviting young people to be open to the Lord’s call to the vocations of priesthood and religious life.

This website is one way we invite young men to consider the Lord’s call to priesthood in our diocese in Brooklyn and Queens. I wish to say a particular word to each young man who may be considering “the call.” It has been my experience that, in many ways, the ones who can best encourage a young man to consider a vocation to priesthood are those young men who have taken that important step of discerning and responding to the call by entering the seminary.

We are so blessed in our diocese with generous, healthy and faithful young men who are studying for the priesthood as seminarians.

I also wish to speak to families, especially the parents of young men who might be considering a call to the priesthood. There has been some discussion lately that parents are not particularly supportive of their sons who wish to follow the vocation to priesthood. Yet, through research that the Diocese of Brooklyn conducted with the help of St. John’s University, we found that the 1,400+ respondents felt that this is not particularly true, especially when parents feel their sons are freely pursuing their vocation. On the other hand, peers are not as supportive of the decision to follow a vocation as might be expected. I encourage you to speak with your parents about your investigation of a vocation. They can be of tremendous assistance and support to you if they understand your motivation.

Finally, a word about the priests who serve our diocese. I have personally been privileged to serve as an Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Newark and as the Ordinary of the Diocese of Camden. When it comes to Brooklyn, I can say that there are no finer priests in my experience than those we find here in Brooklyn and Queens. They are among the most generous and effective priests that I know. This Presbyterate is open and welcoming to all who wish to join. Our Diocesan gatherings truly show a priestly fraternity which is supportive and wholesome. Hopefully, the brooklynpriests.org website will give its visitors an insight into our Diocese and the presbyterate of Brooklyn, and ultimately call more people to better serve the Lord as priests of the Church.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Ph.D., D.D.
Bishop of Brooklyn

FR. SEAN SUCKIEL

Vocation Director’s Corner

What’s My Calling?

Living a life of God can take many forms, but each one of us is called to live a life true to God, for ourselves and for others. Diocese of Brooklyn Vocations Director, Fr. Sean Suckiel, explores this idea by asking “What’s My Calling?” We......