Sacraments of Vocation

Back to TopHoly Orders

The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the call to the ordained ministry. The diocesan priesthood is a call to serve parishes and institutions within southern Minnesota. As priests we are ordained to preach the Good News, celebrate sacraments and offer pastoral care to people in countless ways.

Let us together continue to pray as a church for religious vocations, express in the religious life and the priesthood.

Ordination as a priest configures the priest to Christ the Head of the Church and the one essential High Priest, and conferring on him the power, as the bishops' assistant, to celebrate the sacraments and other liturgical acts, especially the Eucharist. Ordination as a deacon configures the deacon to Christ the Servant of All, placing him at the service of the bishop, especially in the Church's exercising of Christian charity towards the poor and preaching of the word of God.

The discernment of a vocation to religious life as a religious sister or brother, or the priesthood, is a call we must be responsible about. When people continue to have openness as they search, it is our responsibility to introduce them to exploring the possibility of a religious vocation.

People can contact Fr. Tom Melvin at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, 507-454-4643 ext. 225. He is the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Winona. Fr. Melvin is able to direct a young person, or anyone interested in a religious vocation, to the Rochester Franciscans, the Mankato Notre Dames, or the Christian Brothers, as well as be familiar with many other contacts depending upon a persons particular needs.

Information would also be available from Fr. Melvin about the Jesuits, Benedictines, Dominicans and many other religious order groups.

Sisters of St. Francis, Assis Heights, Rochester, MN

Back to TopMarriage

Marriage, like Holy Orders, is a sacrament that has the mission and the power to make Jesus present to each other, to their children, to anyone whom they touch as a couple and as a family. This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between the spouses a permanent and exclusive bond, sealed by God. Accordingly, a marriage between baptized persons, validly entered into and consummated, cannot be dissolved. The sacrament imparts the grace needed for attaining holiness in married life and for responsible acceptance and upbringing of children.

Please contact the Parish Center six months prior to the date of the marriage for preparation requirements.

The Church of St. John Wedding Guidelines