Westminster Diocese enjoys Boom in Trainee Priests

September 2007 has seen an increase to 40 in the number of men training to be priests at Allen Hall, the Diocese of Westminster's seminary.

The arrival of eight new seminarians at the start of the 2007 academic year has also brought the average age of seminarians down to 28, the lowest it has been for several years. Twenty-seven of the 40 seminarians at Allen Hall are now in their twenties.

The new seminarians come from a variety of backgrounds including a postman, a parish assistant and a social worker. Six are from Britain, one is from India and one from Italy.

Michael Guest, previously a social worker said: "My hope is to develop personally and spiritually and bring the gifts that God has given me and my life experiences to the seminary."

Chris Hack, who has spent the last year working as a parish assistant at the Church of St Mary Magdalen, Willesden Green, said, "Exited but understandably nervous, I am looking forward to prayer, drawing closer to the Lord and finding His will in my life."

The new seminarian were welcomed to Allen Hall on Wednesday 12 September by Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster and Canon Paul McGinn, Rector of Allen Hall.

In his homily at the Mass opening the academic year at Allen Hall, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor stressed that those who are already priests and those preparing for priesthood are all one.

He said that seminarians would experience happiness and great joy in bringing the gospel to the world, concluding: "It is gratifying to know that the future of our diocese and the country in terms of the service of priests is assured through your ministry."

Canon Paul McGinn, Rector of Allen Hall, said: "As more men come forward and are selected for the priestly formation at Allen Hall, and as our existing seminarians and recently ordained priests help to spread positive news about the priesthood to others, I sense a growing confidence in our diocese regarding the promotion and encouragement of the vocation of every Christian and, specifically, the possibility of priestly vocation."

Fr Chris Vipers, Vocations Director for the Diocese of Westminster, invited more young men in the capital to consider the priesthood.

"It is a wonderful way of making a difference to our world, a world that will always need priests because it will always need God."