A NATIONAL prayer campaign for examination students next month, a "priesthood Sunday" in September, and a national day for marriage next year are among the events planned for the Catholic Church's Year of Vocation, which was launched yesterday.
The initiative, which aims to raise awareness of the "common vocation that we all share through baptism", will also include an emphasis on the "single life" and separately on the "religious life".
According to figures distributed at the launch of the initiative in the Pro-Cathedral, Dublin, yesterday, the total number of ordinations and final professions to religious orders has fallen from 91 in 1996, to just 22 ten years later.
Similarly, the number of ordained diocesan priests has dropped from 46 to nine.
Speaking at the launch, the Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, Dr Diarmuid Martin, described the Vocation Year as a "very interesting, elaborate, challenging, enthusiastic programme."
He said he hopes to ordain three priests in the Dublin diocese this year, but also noted that he ordained none last year.
Elsewhere, he emphasised the role of laypeople in bringing about renewal. But being a Christian is "not a spectator sport," he said.
"You cannot be simply a passive Christian, sitting on the sideline always or watching from the grandstand when the occasion arises," he said.
As a result, there was a need for a "new type of presence in society," something which the Vocation year reflected.
Yesterday's launch was also attended by Bishop Donal McKeown, the Auxiliary Bishop of Down and Connor and chairman of the Irish Bishops' Commission for Vocations; and representatives of dioceses and religious orders throughout Ireland.
Yesterday was "Vocations Sunday" and the Year of Vocation runs from that date until Vocations Sunday on May 3rd next year.
Other highlights of the year include a rally for World Youth Day to coincide with the official event in Sydney, Australia, in July; and a collaboration with the national pilgrimage centres to reflect on the theme of vocation.