The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the call to the ordained ministry. The diocesan priesthood is a call to serve parishes and institutions within southern Minnesota. As priests we are ordained to preach the Good News, celebrate sacraments and offer pastoral care to people in countless ways.

Let us together continue to pray as a church for religious vocations, express in the religious life and the priesthood.

Ordination as a priest configures the priest to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential High Priest, and conferring on him the power, as the bishops' assistant, to celebrate the sacraments and other liturgical acts, especially the Eucharist. Ordination as a deacon configures the deacon to Christ the Servant of All, placing him at the service of the bishop, especially in the Church's exercising of Christian charity towards the poor and preaching of the word of God.

The discernment of a vocation to religious life as a religious sister or brother, or the priesthood, is a call we must be responsible about. When people continue to have openness as they search, it is our responsibility to introduce them to exploring the possibility of a religious vocation.

Contact
Rev. Jason Kern, Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Winona-Rochester
507-454-4643 ext. 253.
Diocese of Winona-Rochester Vocations

Fr. Kern is able to direct a young person, or anyone interested in a religious vocation, to the Rochester Franciscans, the Mankato Notre Dames, or the Christian Brothers, as well as other religious orders depending upon a persons particular needs.

Information would also be available from Fr. Kern about the Jesuits, Benedictines, Dominicans, Sisters of St. Francis at Assisi Heights in Rochester, MN, and many other religious orders.