Media blitz seeks vocations response

The Vocations Office of the Albany Diocese has begun sponsoring TV and radio ads to spread vocation awareness.

"We are trying to reach those who might have thought of the priesthood or religious life as their future, but may not have yet made a decision," said Sister Rosemary Cuneo, CR, pastoral associate for parish life at St. Henry's Church in Averill Park. "We are hoping that the commercials will help people make that decision."

Sister Rosemary, Rev. James Walsh, associate pastor at St. Pius X in Loudonville, and Rev. David LeFort, administrator of St. Mary's in Clinton Heights, make up the diocesan vocations team. They worked with local radio and TV stations to determine how to best utilize broadcast media for their message.

Awareness

"The philosophy we've come up with is not to 'sell' anything, but rather take advantage of as many avenues as we can to promote vocation awareness," Sister Rosemary said.

Although there has been a drop in the number of men and women responding to vocations calls, that does not mean that God has stopped calling, she noted.

"We want to tell people, 'Don't be fooled. God is still calling despite what the appearances may be,' she continued. "Accepting a call to the religious life or to the priesthood is in many ways counter-cultural, and young people today often don't listen to that call. We're hoping that these ads will encourage young people to say 'yes' to that call."

Gridiron messages

During September and October, several football games featuring the New York Giants and the University of Notre Dame will include 15- and 30-second video clips with messages on vocations. The commercials -- on channels WNYT (13), WTEN, CBS6, ESPN and Fox 23 -- are targeted at 20- to 50-year-olds.

"These clips present a positive message about religious life and the priesthood but are not aimed at just Catholics. They are for everyone," the nun said.

"Marketing research has shown that sports venues are a great means of targeting the age group that we want to hit," noted Father Walsh. "The Notre Dame games have a large Catholic viewing audience; that's why we're targeting them."

Effectiveness

Father LeFort learned, through a story told to him by a parishioner, that the commercials are already proving effective.

"He was recently visiting his son in Glens Falls, who had a few friends over," the priest reported. "All were watching the Giants. When the commercial for the priesthood came on, it highlighted several of our diocesan priests, and the parishioner began bragging that he knew some of them. It sparked a conversation about the priesthood.

"He said the young men talked about religion, then the Church and vocations to the priesthood. His son, who is a non-practicing Catholic, led the discussion. The father was amazed that the young men were so interested in what the commercial had to say."

(Schedule of remaining TV ads: Sept. 22, Michigan State @ Notre Dame; Sept. 30, N.Y. Giants vs. Philadelphia; Oct. 6, Notre Dame @ UCLA; Oct. 7, Giants vs. Jets; Oct. 13, Boston College @ Notre Dame; Oct. 15, Giants vs. Atlanta; Oct. 20, USC @ Notre Dame; Nov. 11, Giants vs. Dallas; and Nov. 17, Duke @ Notre Dame. Check local listings for channels and times. Siena College's radio station, WVCR (88.3 FM), will air 60-second audio clips titled, "A Vocation Minute," three times a day into 2008. For additional information, contact the Vocations Office at 453-6670.)

(9/20/07)