A US diocese defies trends and ordains its largest class of Catholic priests in decades

AP News ^ | Updated 6:01 AM CDT, June 27, 2025 | TIFFANY STANLEY

[E. Pluribus Unum]

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — They are a day away from becoming Catholic priests, rehearsing for their ordination Mass under the gothic cathedral’s arches.

It’s a balmy Friday afternoon in June, and they are practicing where to stand, when to kneel. The weekend’s rituals will be the culmination of six years of seminary and a lifetime of discernment.

There are so many of them — more than their diocese has ordained at one time in nearly 30 years — that it’s a challenge to fit the whole group in front of the altar.

Their bishop likes to call them “the 12.” Like the 12 apostles of Jesus, their number has become a mantra and a prayer. It offers hope there can still be joy and renewal in a church riven by division, crises and abuse.

Among the group there are engineers, a tech company founder and two future military chaplains. They range in age from 28 to 56. Most are U.S.-born, but some trace their roots to faraway countries with a strong Catholic presence: Cameroon, Mexico, Peru, Haiti.

They are entering the priesthood at an exciting time, just as the first U.S.-born pope begins his papacy. Yet, there remains an acute shortage of clergy like them. In the U.S., the number of priests has declined by more than 40% since 1970, according to CARA, a research center affiliated with Georgetown University.

During their final year of seminary, these 12 men have served as transitional deacons, offering baptisms, homilies and promising to live in obedience and celibacy. “We’ve already made the promises that are, I guess, ‘the scariest,’” said the Rev. Ricky Malebranche, one of the ordinands.

Soon they will be entrusted with more sacraments. As ordained priests, they will work...

[Dr. Sivana]

Christendom College, my alma mater, has long been a factory for priests for the Diocese of Arlington. The Diocese sends vocations to Mount Saint Mary’s, which is one of the less bad seminaries.

Christendom also provides all student loans herself, and forgives all student loans when a student becomes an ordained priest of consecrated religious in almost all situations.

[iamgalt]

I just hope it isn’t a bunch of twinks.

[Dr. Sivana]

I just hope it isn’t a bunch of twinks.

The ones I went to college with were all orthodox young men. One, Bill Casey, was Marines and went on to be the leader of the Fathers of Mercy. My roommate, Fr. Michael Taylor, was an athlete, and got along with the ladies just fine, within the bounds appropriate of one acting on a priestly vocation.

They weren't all perfect, but overall a great group. I notbed that Arlington is drawing vocations from other parts of the country, some going to schools with a Catholic reputation (Steubenville, University of Mary) and others from secular schools far away (University of Louisiana), and a cluster from highly regarded nearby colleges (UVa, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Catholic U.). Despite hostility to the Traditional Mass, there must be something going right in Arlington.

[I-ambush]

When Bishop Burbidge was our bishop in Nortb Carolina, he fostered many vocations in our diocese as well. I had the honor of meeting with him on multiple occasions. He is a holy and reverent man. I hope the east coast liberals won’t change him.