Switzerland : 2006, the year of “Vocations in the Church”
On February 9, the Romand Centre for Vocations (RCV) launched its Vocations campaign for 2006 at a press conference in Lausanne. Mgr. Denis Theurillet, auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Basel, president of the COR (Conference of Local Bishops from French Speaking Switzerland) compared the Church to a sailing boat which needs guides. “It is a matter of placing lay people in the centre of the Church”, said Fr. Dominique Rimaz, the coordinator of RCV, who also presented the Vocations report for 2005: six young men who may possibly enter the seminary, six seminarians and six deacons training for the three French speaking dioceses of Sion, Lausanne/Geneva/Fribourg and Neuchatel. Swiss Romande currently has 770 priests (both religious and diocesan)
On the publicity poster of the “Called” there are nine faces : a permanent deacon, a Sister, a catechetical instructor, a pastoral lay assistant, a schoolgirl, an RCV lawyer and accountant, an RCV secretary, a student working for WYD and a monk from Hauterive Abbey. The information dossier was sent to 1,300 parishes and communities. Thirty thousand prayer cards where the face of the reader is reflected under the question “Am I called?”, were distributed, as well as 1,600 DVDs on Vocations.
The RCV, equipped with a new logo and a website www.vocations.ch has organized various events to attract vocations : the Romand World Youth Day on April 8and 9 in Neuchatel, A Convent night, throughout Switzerland on May 5 and 6 (open days), a festival of Christian music Festi’Flash (rock, gospel, rap, boys choirs…) on May 6 at Nyon, the Day of the Family at the Vidy-Lausanne Stadium on September 10, the Pray,Witness weekend in Fribourg on November 5 and 6…
These events will be financed with private funds, but “donations are always welcome” said Mgr. Theurillat.
