Diocese in North Carolina breaks record with 10 priestly ordinations

The Diocese of Charlotte is among those in the United States that have a high number of seminarians and priestly ordinations. The diocese in western North Carolina saw a record 10 young men ordained to the priesthood in early 2026; that followed six ordinations in 2025 and seven in 2024. “We are blessed in the Diocese of Charlotte,” Eckert said. “It’s a beautiful moment.” The priest just completed his first full year as director of vocations there. He said one of the diocese’s strengths is its vibrant faith life, which he attributed in part to the region’s “Bible Belt evangelical roots.” “This is Billy Graham territory,” he joked.

The diocese itself demonstrates this testimony, he said. “The Church is growing like crazy here,” he said. “We have wonderful families. We have faithful, hard-working priests. We have had five bishops who continue to strive to take the message of the Gospel and bring it to every corner of the diocese.” The growing ranks of the priesthood are testament to that high spirit, although Eckert said it can be tricky to pinpoint exactly what contributes to years of high ordinations. One of the diocese’s strengths, he said, is its own “internal university seminary.” “It’s so wonderful that if we have a young man interested in the priesthood, we can just bring him to this place and show him where the early formative years will take place,” he said. The school offers future seminarians the chance to see “a group of men living it up, being very intentional in their prayer life, striving to grow in the love of Our Lord.”

Charlotte Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, told EWTN News that when seeing such high levels of devotion to the priesthood, “we often have to simply marvel at the work of God.” The diocese’s priests, he said, excel at offering candidates for the priesthood “the opportunity to see a healthy, holy, good person that they can see themselves becoming.” Families, in turn, became “much more open” to communicating to their children that they would be “honored to see them consider the priesthood.” “This dynamic arose because the presbytery sets a good example,” said the bishop. “It makes families, and parents in particular, more willing to create that environment in their own families.”

Both Martin and Eckert said that, at a certain point, Church leaders simply have to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit. “Trying to fully understand it is important,” Martin said, “but in some ways it’s better to just appreciate it, enjoy it and be grateful for it.” Eckert, in turn, cited as an example 1 Corinthians 3:6, in which Paul tells the Corinthian Church about their faith: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”

The priest spoke happily about his work in the diocesan vocations office, although he downplayed his own role in bringing men into holy orders. He recounted with a laugh what a speaker told a group of vocations directors at a recent conference: “Gentlemen, get over yourself. No one ever got into seminary because of their vocations director.”

Father Garett Burns, director of vocations promotion for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, admitted that the Midwestern diocese is “blessed with a strong vocations culture.” “For example, last May, six men were ordained to the priesthood,” he said. “We have been blessed to generally have a steady number of ordinations each year. There have been 22 priestly ordinations since 2020 and 44 priestly ordinations in the last 10 years. We will begin this academic year with 50 seminarians in formation.”

He said it is “difficult to succinctly capture” why a diocese can have such abundant vocations, describing every Catholic’s vocation as a “mystery of grace.” But he said promoting vocations in all aspects of Church life — including in families, schools and parishes — has borne steady fruit. The diocese has an abundance of Eucharistic worship, he said, including perpetual adoration. Such chapels present opportunities for young people to spend time in silence before Christ, he said, and “these moments are where vocations grow and flourish.”

The diocese’s priests and bishops, in turn, are “deeply committed to the Lord.” “When priests love their priesthood and like each other, that’s attractive to young people,” he said. A local seminary program has also borne fruit, he said, allowing young people to form a close and central connection to the Church “back home.” The priest said he is hesitant to offer advice to other dioceses, admitting there is no “universal solution” given each diocese’s unique histories, gifts and challenges. But expanding opportunities for Eucharistic adoration, he said, offers “a viable option that promises to deepen the culture of vocations.”

Father Noah Morey, director of vocations in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, echoed the assessment of his fellow vocations directors: “It’s not just one thing, it’s everything,” he told EWTN News. The Diocese of Arlington saw seven new priests ordained in 2026; recorded 12 ordinations in 2025. Morey noted that when it comes to ordinations, “it’s not about numbers, it’s about quality.” But he said the Diocese of Arlington has a “strong culture of vocations” that has helped produce exemplary priests over the years. The diocese has promoted vocations since its founding in 1974. Its first leader, Bishop Thomas Welsh, “really fostered that culture,” in part by bringing a Poor Clare monastery into the diocese. “Our bishops have all taken a practical approach to fostering vocations in young people at an early age,” Morey said. Bishops in Arlington regularly attend seminary events and meet in person with aspiring priests, he said. Eucharistic adoration is prolific throughout the diocese, meanwhile; Several years ago, Morey said, current Bishop Michael Burbidge asked every pastor in the diocese to institute 40 hours of Eucharistic adoration annually.

The diocese also hosts St. Andrew dinners several times a year, which allows young people to talk to the bishop and diocesan priests about their potential discernment. “I tell young people, it’s a very low commitment event — you’re not signing away your life!” he said. “You just show up for a free dinner with the bishop.” An annual summer camp “Quo Vadis?” offers another opportunity for young people to discern face-to-face with Church leaders. An active and vibrant priesthood in the diocese also helps foster vocational discernment, he said. “If a young man sees a priest who is in love with the Lord, that’s really attractive to the priesthood,” he said. And faith-filled and encouraging families are equally responsible for fostering vocations in young people, Morey continued. He offered a baseball analogy to describe the process by which young men find their way to the priesthood. “Families are the starting pitchers,” he said. “The priests are the go-betweens. And the vocations director is the finisher.”

Globally, the Church continued to see lower vocations; the most recent data shows a continued decline in priests, with significant declines in Europe and the Americas, although Africa and Asia have seen notable increases. In the first 15 months of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV continued to emphasize the importance of vocations. In June 2025, he told vocations ministers at the Vatican that their work consisted of “forming men capable of loving, listening, praying and serving as a community.”

The pope said God “continues to call and remains faithful to his promises.” He urged leaders to help create the appropriate conditions “to hear the voice [de Deus]”. In Charlotte, Bishop Martin said the best response to an increase in vocations is to be joyful in the gift and determined to help it flourish. “There is something in God’s design that is beyond even what I can say,” he said. “I can provide some insights, but ultimately, this is the work of the Holy Spirit.” Eckert, for his part, said an increase in vocations is a blessing no matter where it develops. “The job I think we all have is to be intentional in our discipleship of Jesus Christ,” he said. “I pray for myself and all my vocation director brothers out there. Whether it’s Peoria or Charlotte, it’s good for all of us.”