In 2025, the meaning of vocation remains central to Catholic life—whether to priesthood, religious life, or marriage. Furthermore, each vocation is more than a private choice; it is a divine invitation to share in God’s mission of truth, beauty, and goodness.
As the Church across the world celebrates this Jubilee Year, scripture, the saints, and our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV remind us that vocations are not only personal journeys but gifts for the whole Church, and signs of hope for the world.
Scripture: The Call of God
From the shores of Galilee to the letters of St Paul, scripture frames vocation as a response to God’s initiative.
Jesus tells Simon Peter, “Put out into the deep” (Luke 5:4), a challenge still echoed today: to trust, to risk, and to follow. St Paul assures us, “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5), grounding every vocation in the faithfulness of God’s promises.
Pope Leo XIV: May we pray for vocations, live a life of service
Speaking on Good Shepherd Sunday, 11 May 2025, Pope Leo XIV expressed his joy in being able to pray together with all the People of God for vocations, especially to the priesthood and consecrated life.
He said the Church has “great need for them” as it does all of us who support them on their vocational journey so they can “find acceptance, listening and encouragement in their communities” and “credible models of generous dedication to God and to their brothers and sisters.”
Recalling Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, he encouraged everyone to “welcome and accompany young people” while we ask God to help us all live “in service to one another…capable of helping one another to walk in love and truth.”
Western Australia: Vocations lived locally
In Australia, the Archdiocese of Perth, as well as the Dioceses of Broome, Geraldton and Bunbury continue to welcome new seminarians each year, though in smaller numbers than decades past.
St Charles Seminary currently has 11 seminarians for Perth, Bunbury and Geraldton, while Redemptoris Mater, Perth’s missionary seminary under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way, currently has nine.
Since 2014, Perth has celebrated more than 35 ordinations, living proof that the priesthood remains alive and valued.
In 2024, some 400 weddings were celebrated in parishes and Chapels across Perth in data developed by the Archdiocese of Perth.
Marriage preparation services are also currently being reviewed to better understand how couples (young and old) can be well formed for the journey of married life ahead.
Vocation as Faith Formation: A Journey
In his 2001 message for the World Day of Vocations, St John Paul II wrote that vocation is the word that leads us to understand the dynamisms of God’s revelation and thus reveals to man the truth about his existence.
“At the root of every vocational journey there is the Emmanuel, the God-with-us.
“He shows us that we are not alone in fashioning our lives, because God walks with us, in the midst of our ups-and-downs, and, if we want him to, he weaves with each of us a marvellous tale of love, unique and irreproducible, and, at the same time, in harmony with all humanity and the entire cosmos.”
Conclusion: Hope for Our Region
In 2025, vocations remain the heart of a Church that is alive, faithful, and hopeful.
Addressing young people in particular regarding vocations on 11 May 2025, Pope Leo XIV encouraged them saying, “Do not be afraid! Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ the Lord!”
To discern one’s vocation is to hear anew the words of Christ: “Come, follow me” (Matt 4:19). To live it is to echo St Paul’s call to be a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (Rom 12:1).
In a fractured age of wars, famine and technology (to name a few), the witness of vocation is a light of commitment and joy. It assures us that God still calls, that His Spirit is alive in the Church, and that—indeed—hope does not disappoint.