Sacraments
Baptism Eucharist Confirmation Penance/ Reconciliation Anointing of the Sick Matrimony Holy OrdersHoly Orders
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Men discerning the priesthood or diaconate should contact either the pastor or the diocesan vocations office.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1590 St. Paul said to his disciple Timothy: "I remind
you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you
through the laying on of my hands" (2 Tim 1:6), and "If
any one aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a
noble task." (1 Tim 3:1) To Titus he said: "This is why
I left you in Crete, that you amend what was defective,
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you"
(Titus 1:5).
1591 The whole Church is a priestly people. Through
Baptism all the faithful share in the priesthood of
Christ. This participation is called the "common
priesthood of the faithful." Based on this common
priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists
another participation in the mission of Christ: the
ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders,
where the task is to serve in the name and in the person
of Christ the Head in the midst of the community.
1592 The ministerial priesthood differs in essence from
the common priesthood of the faithful because it confers
a sacred power for the service of the faithful. The
ordained ministers exercise their service for the People
of God by teaching (munus docendi), divine worship (munus
liturgicum) and pastoral governance (munus regendi).
1593 Since the beginning, the ordained ministry has been
conferred and exercised in three degrees: that of
bishops, that of presbyters, and that of deacons. The
ministries conferred by ordination are irreplaceable for
the organic structure of the Church: without the bishop,
presbyters, and deacons, one cannot speak of the Church
(cf. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Trall. 3,1).
1594 The bishop receives the fullness of the sacrament
of Holy Orders, which integrates him into the episcopal
college and makes him the visible head of the particular
Church entrusted to him. As successors of the apostles
and members of the college, the bishops share in the
apostolic responsibility and mission of the whole Church
under the authority of the Pope, successor of St. Peter.
1595 Priests are united with the bishops in sacerdotal
dignity and at the same time depend on them in the
exercise of their pastoral functions; they are called to
be the bishops' prudent co-workers. They form around
their bishop the presbyterium which bears responsibility
with him for the particular Church. They receive from
the bishop the charge of a parish community or a
determinate ecclesial office.
1596 Deacons are ministers ordained for tasks of service
of the Church; they do not receive the ministerial
priesthood, but ordination confers on them important
functions in the ministry of the word, divine worship,
pastoral governance, and the service of charity, tasks
which they must carry out under the pastoral authority
of their bishop.
1597 The sacrament of Holy Orders is conferred by the
laying on of hands followed by a solemn prayer of
consecration asking God to grant the ordinand the graces
of the Holy Spirit required for his ministry. Ordination
imprints an indelible sacramental character.
1598 The Church confers the sacrament of Holy Orders
only on baptized men (viri), whose suitability for the
exercise of the ministry has been duly recognized.
Church authority alone has the responsibility and right
to call someone to receive the sacrament of Holy Orders.
1599 In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders
for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on
candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and
who publicly manifest their intention of staying
celibate for the love of God's kingdom and the service
of men.
1600 It is bishops who confer the sacrament of Holy
Orders in the three degrees.