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How can you attract interest in religious life? Spaghetti apparently helps.

In an effort to interest young men in the priesthood, Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and priests from across the Albany Diocese will team up for a series of five pasta dinners, beginning next month and continuing through November, to tell the stories of their vocations.

"We are at a critical juncture in life of our Diocese," Bishop Hubbard told The Evangelist. "'Called to be Church' was not due to the shortage of priests, but it certainly was a factor - and if we don't reverse the trend, it will linger."

The idea for the dinners came from Archbishop Harry Flynn of St. Paul/Minneapolis. A native of Schenectady, he began holding pasta dinners when he was bishop in Lafayette, La., and had immediate success. 

When he took the practice with him to Minnesota, that success followed.

"There hasn't been a priest who's been ordained [in St. Paul/Minneapolis] who hasn't had a spaghetti dinner at my house," Archbishop Flynn stated.

The key, he said, is to not force the issue.

"You don't push anything on them," he explained. "You just ask them to pray and hope God will tell them something. It's simply a matter of asking people to think about this and help them discern what God is calling them to do."

Finding men to invite to the events involves work and dedication. Planning began during Lent; Bishop Hubbard has asked all priests in the Diocese to identify single men between the ages of 16 and 55 whom they think may have the characteristics needed to be priests and invite them to a dinner. 

During the dinners, starting in May during the Easter season, the priests will share the stories of how God called each of them to a new life: the priesthood.

"It gives the people coming an opportunity to gather with other candidates considering priesthood and realize they're not alone," said Bishop Hubbard. "Anytime you can share your own story, it helps."

Rev. James Walsh of St. Pius X parish in Loudonville, a member of the diocesan Vocations Team, is one of the many priests who will take part in this process. For him, the intimacy could play a huge factor in getting people interested.

"Just being around those people and hearing their stories from priests and hearing the Bishop's story, I think, will be a good experience," he said.

The most important benefit could be the lasting effect on the Diocese. As Archbishop Flynn recalled: "When I arrived in Lafayette, we had the largest African-American Catholic population in the country, but no African-American priests. When I simply invited them, they began to respond, and now there are many African-American priests and others in religious vocations there."

The dinners are only a first step in encouraging men to answer the call to the priesthood. Father Walsh noted that "if we can get some immediate success out of it, then, great, but I suspect most of it would be long-term."

In fact, this has been done before, although on a much smaller scale.

"It isn't the first time we've done it," said the Bishop. "It's the first time we're doing it regionally, and the first time the priests are the inviters. The response will hopefully be positive."

Bishop Hubbard also hoped that it would be a way to dismiss some of the matters that might steer young men away from becoming priests:

"Certainly myself and other priests will take this as a time to tell our own story and be responsive to the types of issues and concerns people might raise."

All in all, the effort is about building up the priesthood.

"I think it's very important for the Church," said Archbishop Flynn. "It's very inviting and it does work."[[In-content Ad]]

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