Almost A Priest: Countdown till Ordination [T-Minus 3 days] – Handwritten Petition for Priestly Order and Official Call to Orders From the Bishop

Only a few days away and I wanted to share a part of the journey that most people don’t see and are probably not aware of. Before a man is ordained to either the diaconate or priesthood he must hand-write a petition to his bishop to request to be ordained to the specific Holy Order he is seeking and that he is fully aware of and embraces the responsibilities and obligations the order entails. This is submitted months ahead of ordination, and is required by canon law itself. Then the bishop accepts and then gives him official “call to orders” letting him know very clearly that the Church confirms his call to the order he seeks.

For the priesthood I did this back on June 13 and the bishop accepted my petition and called me in a letter and decree to the priesthood on June 24, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and officially set the date of ordination to be August 9, 2025. Below you can see the letters and decree themselves.

About This Series: Join me as I show an inside look at what’s like to prepare to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood in the last 3 months from May 9 to August 9, 2025 through pictures and videos. See the previous post in the series.