BRANDYWINE HUNDRED — Father John Solomon keeps pretty busy with his day job as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, but he has added another duty, one critical to the faithful of the Diocese of Wilmington.
At the beginning of October, Father Solomon was named the director of vocations for the diocese, responsible for guiding young men who are studying for the priesthood. It was not a job he thought about beforehand.
“It came about the way most holy things in the church come about, which means the bishop calls and wants to talk to you. We had a good conversation,” he said recently at IHM, where he has been pastor for a little more than a year.
Taking on this role in an official capacity fits in with his nature, Father Solomon said. He enjoys connecting with the seminarians and encouraging vocations. Any priest, and any Catholic, has a part to play in guide people “to listen to God’s voice.”
The appointment was something of a surprise, he said, and he did not take the position with a master plan already in place. Father Solomon said he recalls things that were helpful to him leading up to his ordination in 2011.
He also read a book called “Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry.”
“What I found interesting as I was going through the book was that it was started not by a priest, and not by a religious sister, but by a laywoman, and she was a convert, too,” he said.
The author, Rhonda Gruenewald, became interested in promoting vocations at her parish. Her church has a vocations ministry, just as it would have a finance council or outreach ministry.
Vocations directors and pastors come and go, he explained, but parishioners are members of a church for the longest time and know the families the best. Oftentimes, they are in the best position to encourage a young person.
Vocations are not limited to the priesthood or religious life. “Hundredfold” also speaks about having something in parishes for World Marriage Day, including perhaps having a married couple talk at Mass.
“We need good married couples,” said Father Solomon, whose appointment is for five years.
Implementing something like this in the diocese would include training. Everyone needs to be on board to build a “culture of vocations,” he said. The approach will require patience.
“The data in the dioceses where this has been implemented has been very successful.”
As vocation director, he also will need to keep tabs on the seminarians. Father Solomon wants to visit each of the three seminaries the Diocese of Wilmington uses at least once a semester. He said the size of the diocese works to his advantage because he already knows the seminarians. One, James Kimmel, spent his pastoral year at Immaculate Heart.
Father Solomon anticipates other events sponsored by the vocations office, such as Pass the Word, will continue.
