The Servant of God, Paul Vl, instituted this day of worldwide prayer to God the Father, asking him to continue to send workers for his Church. (cf Mt 9:38)
‘The problem of having a sufficient number of priests has an immediate impact on all of the faithful: not simply because they depend on it for the religious future of Christian society, but also because this problem is the
precise and inescapable indicator of the vitality of faith and love of individual parish and diocesan communities, and the evidence of the moral health of Christian families. Wherever numerous vocations to the priesthood and
consecrated life are to be found, that is where people are living the Gospel with generosity. (11 April 1964)