Diocese of Gary

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” – Mark 1:17

MERRILLVILLE – The Diocese of Gary’s Office of Vocations is inviting parishioners to pray, reflect and submit names of men and women in their communities who they believe possess gifts and qualities suited to the priesthood or religious life.

This is the second time Called By Name will be conducted by the diocese. The vocations office launched a pilot program in early 2024, and ran its first campaign in Fall 2024.

“Doing this every two years allows us to do it with relative frequency, but not to overload people and do it every year,” explained Father Nathaniel Edquiest, vocations director for the Diocese of Gary.

The Called By Name initiative will begin on Sunday, Nov. 1, the Solemnity of All Saints. Father Edquist, who is also pastor at St. Paul in Valparaiso, said it's fitting that the campaign should start on All Saints Day and the Sunday of National Vocation Awareness Week. On that day, the diocese has asked priests to preach on the subject of vocations and introduce Called By Name during Mass.

Parishes received packets of information ahead of time, complete with suggested talking points, posters, a stack of cards and other resources. The cards are available for any parishioner to use to submit the name of a man or woman they feel may be called to religious life. The cards will be accepted throughout most of November and can also be completed online at garyvocations.com/called-by-name-campaign.

The cards have space to write the basic information about the person they are recommending (name, age, parish they belong to, etc.). In addition, the cards prompt the individual to share how they know the person and what qualities they see in the person that would make them a great priest or religious sister.

Why is the Diocese of Gary conducting Called By Name? To answer that question, Father Edquist shared details of a survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). Each year the organization surveys the ordination class of priests, asking a variety of questions including, “How old were you when you started thinking about the priesthood?” and “How were you involved in your parish?”

“And then it gets to this question of who encouraged you to consider the priesthood, even who discouraged you from considering the priesthood,” Father Edquist said.

All diocesan priests, and there were over 400 priests ordained in 2026 in the United States, were asked: “Who encouraged you to consider the priesthood?” According to their responses, 75% were encouraged by their parish priest and 46% were encouraged by a parishioner.

Those two groups are incredibly important, stated Father Edquist. The number one response was the parish priest, and encouragement from mothers and fathers, peers and fellow parishioners were also important.

“What Called By Name does is facilitate this relationship not only with the parish priest and candidates who otherwise would not have come forward, but it also encourages that horizontal relationship between a candidate and their fellow parishioners who see qualities in them that they may not see in themselves,” he said.

Father Edquist added that the Called By Name process offers a less imposing way to present the idea of a religious vocation than, for example, approaching a young person after Mass to ask if they have ever considered the priesthood.

“Sometimes that works, but other times what works is anonymous submissions,” he said.

Once the submissions are verified, the young person will receive a letter from Bishop Robert J. McClory, indicating that he or she has the support of their fellow parishioners. The hope is that the special invitation will empower him or her to take the next step in their discernment.

When Father Roque Meraz was considering entering the seminary, he admits he had plenty of doubts. The assistant vocations director and pastor of Holy Family Parish in LaPorte wasn't always sure that God was calling him to become a priest.

“I remember people telling me they were praying for me and encouraging me to give it a chance,” he said. “Some even pointed out qualities they saw in me that I had never really thought about. Looking back, I think their encouragement gave me the courage to take that first step.”

Father Meraz shared that sometimes “other people see things in us that we don't see ourselves.” He is now grateful for those who saw something in him and encouraged him to listen to God's call.

Father Meraz likes Called By Name because it reminds the faithful that encouraging vocations isn't just the responsibility of priests. Everyone can play a part, and he knows from his own experience how much it means when someone asks, "Have you ever thought about becoming a priest?"

“I also think we need to cast our nets wider,” he added. “Sometimes we have an idea of what a future priest should look like, but God doesn't always call the people we expect. There may be young men sitting in our pews every Sunday who have never seriously considered the priesthood just because nobody has ever asked them.”

For more information on vocations in the Diocese of Gary and Called By Name, visit garyvocations.com.

Father Edquist schedules several seminary visits each year. One trip invites high school- and college-age men to tour Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minn. He also organizes a major seminary visit with post-college-age men to see a pre-theology seminary.

Caption: Seminarians and discerners take a Rosary walk during the three-day Quo Vadis? Where are you going Discernment retreat at Camp Lawrence on August 3. (Deacon Bob Wellinski photo)