Detroit — If a young man considering a vocation to the priesthood wonders whether such a life is worth it, he ought to look no further than Priesthood Sunday.

The annual celebration, which this year falls on Oct. 26, has become an outpouring of love, support and encouragement for our priests since it was established in 2003.

For readers of The Michigan Catholic, it is also a day to publicly recognize the nearly 600 diocesan and religious-order priests who live, serve or minister in the Archdiocese of Detroit with letters of praise and thanksgiving honoring all that they do in our parishes, schools, hospitals and special ministries.

According to the most recent statistics:

• 43 percent of local priests work primarily in parish ministry


• 23 percent are senior priests who have retired from active ministry (but of whom many still serve as weekend associates and volunteers), or who are otherwise inactive


• 7 percent work as teachers and faculty of schools, seminaries and universities


• 2 percent are chaplains


• 1 percent serve the Archdiocese of Detroit in Central Services


• 23 percent serve in various other roles, including as bishops, provincial ministries, campus ministries, etc.

The average age for priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit is 63.1, and the ratio of parish priests to parishioners is 1 per 2,928, which makes their service all the more remarkable and worthy of admiration. In thanksgiving and recognition of this service, many parishes have purchased ads throughout this section to publicly thank the men who give so much of themselves to God’s people.

Almost every Catholic has a story to tell about how a priest has touched their life in some way or another. For some, it’s a weekly or daily dose of inspiration, edification and spiritual nourishment at the Lord’s table and by way of inspiring or challenging homilies. For others, it’s the selflessness of a priest who gives up personal time to spend with a parishioner or family member who’s ill or in crisis. Visits to the sick, imprisoned, and the poor are rarely forgotten, even if not always publicly acknowledged.

Priests are there to celebrate with us during baptisms, weddings and confirmations; to cry with us at funerals; and to counsel us during confessions. They anoint us when we’re sick, and welcome us when we’re down. And for all the work they do that we don’t see — such as running the day-to-day operations of a parish, school or ministry — the people of the Archdiocese of Detroit would like to say thanks.

From all of us here at The Michigan Catholic, we’d like to add our voices to the chorus of those in this section and beyond who appreciate, beyond measure, all those tireless workers in God’s vineyard continue to do for us on a daily basis.