Every vocation begins with a “Yes,” and in the Diocese of Bridgeport, as of the end of 2025 thirty-eight men have answered the call and are currently at different stages of formation for the priesthood. More “Yes” are anticipated from at least a handful of men currently in the discernment process.
We know this as the Diocese of Bridgeport Office of Development launched a major fundraising campaign in the Fall of 2025 called “Shepherds After My Own Heart” to support current and future seminarians, men who—God willing—will one day serve as our parish priests and leaders of our Church. The campaign followed the “Called by Name” vocations initiative which saw our communities identify more than three hundred young men from our own diocese as having the potential for priesthood.
Foundations in Faith has been a partner in this endeavor for many years. Since 2019, the St. Charles Borromeo Fund for Vocations & Seminarians has distributed in excess of $1.5 Million dollars to the Diocese of Bridgeport Office of Seminarians and the Office of Vocations, both of which were under the Director of Fr. Christopher Ford until July 1, 2025 with the appointment of Fr. Ferry Galbert as Director of the Office of Vocations.
| “Foundations in Faith is one of the most critical partners we have in the cultivation and formation of priestly vocations here in the Diocese of Bridgeport. The support that we receive from the St. Charles Borromeo Fund for Vocations and Seminarians helps to fund critical initiatives, such as Called by Name, our St. Andrew’s Dinners, and directly supports the formation of our seminarians through tuition costs, necessary materials, and other formation opportunities. We are extremely blessed to have 38 men in formation for the priesthood here in the Diocese of Bridgeport, with so many more discerning if this is God’s call in their life. To support these men and their vocations takes real resources and investment, for which Foundations in Faith is an essential and invaluable resource.”
-Rev. Christopher J Ford, Director of Seminarians for the Diocese of Bridgeport |
Once a man discerns a vocation to the priesthood, an eight-year journey begins until he can be ordained. The journey is unique to each man with length of time, course of study, and focus of formation personalized to shape his spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral life as God calls him.
The first stage is called Propaedeutic and for the duration of a year, the seminarian focuses on prayer, fraternity, and grounding in the spiritual life. Next comes the Discipleship stage, lasting anywhere from two to four years, which encompasses of undergraduate philosophy course study and a deepening of his identity as a disciple of Christ. The third stage is called Configuration, comprising of four years of theological studies, pastoral preparation, and conferral of the Ministries of Lector and Acolyte. Finally, he reaches the Vocational Synthesis stage, a final preparation for priestly ordination through pastoral service as a transitional deacon.
The formation of our priests is one that calls for dedication and resources—from both the man and his Church. As a partner of the Diocese of Bridgeport Office of Vocations and the Office of Seminarians, Foundations in Faith participates in this most foundational aspect of the Church. As Pope John Paul II said in “There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood…”
The St. Charles Borromeo Fund for Vocations and Seminarians with annual grants of about $250,000 towards seminarians and $30,000 towards vocations helps fund major initiatives like the St. Andrews Dinner, which take place regionally around the diocese with the goal of helping young men hear the voice of Jesus more clearly, in addition to contributing towards the cost of tuition for our seminarians in several seminaries: St. Charles Borromeo Seminary (Wynnewood, PA), The Pontifical North American College (Rome, Italy), the Redemptoris Mater Diocesan Mission Seminary of Bridgeport (Stamford, CT), Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary (Weston, MA), and St. Joseph’s Seminary and College (Dunwoodie, NY).
The Diocese of Bridgeport leads the region in cultivating vocations and anticipates the ordination of Deacons Juan Jose Colon, Herley Felipe Mendez Torres, and Riccardo Varagnolo in 2026. To meet the unprecedented surge in vocations by growing the class of seminarians year over year is necessary as a large number of priests are expected to retire from active ministry in our parishes and schools in the next ten to fifteen years. Which simply cannot be done without the support of generous donors and the St. Charles Borromeo Fund.
(Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination, New York, 1996, pp. 77-78)
