National Vocation Awareness Week (2-9 August 2026) is an opportunity for Catholics, Christians and those not yet connected to their faith to reflect on one of life’s most important questions: Who is God calling me to be?
Every August, the Catholic Church in Australia shines a spotlight on the many different lived expressions of responding to God’s call.
It’s easy to think that vocations are only for young men discerning the priesthood. But living a life dedicated to God comes in many forms. The call to holiness extends to every baptised person.
Young adults joining in worship at the 2025 LIFTED Launch. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Absolutely we need more men to become priests. But this requires more discernment – you could be a priest serving your local church, meaning you are ordained for your diocese. Or perhaps you want to become a priest in a religious order, such as the Franciscans, Salesians, Somascans, or the Jesuits to name but a few.
There is also a vocation to the permanent diaconate for married or single men who serve by proclaiming the Gospel, preaching, distributing the Eucharist, baptising new Catholics, and assisting at weddings and funerals.
Lighting the Paschal Candle. St Patrick’s Cathedral Easter Vigil, 2025. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Women might have a calling to a particular Religious Order or Institute of Sisters or Nuns such as the Schoenstatt Sisters, the Sisters of Mercy, the Tyburn Nuns or the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. Or become consecrated to the Church, as a consecrated virgin.
Whether considering a vocation of this nature or not, we are all called to pray for more vocations to consecrated life.
Bishop Vincent celebrates the 2025 Consecrated Life Mass. Image: Alphonsus Fok/Diocese of Parramatta.
Single, religious and married women come together for an “At the Well” gathering, 2024. Image: Mary Brazell/Diocese of Parramatta
“May we pray for vocations, especially those to the priesthood and consecrated life. The Church has such a great need for them! It is important that young men and women find acceptance, listening and encouragement on their vocational journey, and that they can count on credible models of generous dedication to God and to their brothers and sisters,” said Pope Leo XIV on Good Shepherd Sunday, 11 May 2025.
This week in Catholic Outlook we will be hearing stories about the vocations of people in our Diocese – priests, religious sisters, deacons and those who have been called to married or single life. No matter what the vocation, we are all called by God to live lives of faith, service and love.
“Every vocation is an immeasurable gift for the Church and for those who receive it with joy,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in March 2026.
Vocations, he states, are “a way of beauty”, of growing in mutual awareness, of building trust and maturing in your personal relationship with God.
Deacon David Dowling serves with Bishop Vincent at the Diocesan Liturgical Ministers Commissioning Mass, 2025. Image: Anna Amos
As the Diocese of Parramatta marks National Vocation Awareness Week, parishes, schools, ministries and communities are invited to pray for vocations and hear stories of those who have responded to God’s call.
Importantly, all are encouraged to have conversations about discerning your vocation with friends, families and faith communities, or accompany those who are discerning with a listening heart as discernment is rarely about finding instant answers. Discernment is a lifelong journey of listening to God through prayer, the wisdom of others, the sacraments and the experiences of everyday life.
2025 Mass and Dinner for Consecrated Life. Image: Alphonsus Fok/Diocese of Parramatta
This National Vocations Awareness Week, let us pray for more vocations and make space to be silent and listen to God’s voice, trusting that He continues to call people today just as He has throughout history.
This National Vocations Awareness Week (2-9 August 2026), may these stories inspire all of us to listen more deeply to God’s call, wherever it may lead.
Vocations Awareness Week aligns with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of Prayer and Formation. To learn more about responding to God’s call, visit Discern My Vocation.
