The view from Rome looks to the heartland
Diocese of Wichita’s Fr. Ben Sawyer presents at “Joyful Priests” event to clergy from around the world
His fellow priest from the Catholic Diocese of Wichita fit the bill, and so Fr. Patrick Reilley mentioned Fr. Benjamin Sawyer. Less than two weeks later, Fr. Sawyer found himself onstage at a Vatican event for priests, seminarians, and formators at Rome’s Auditorium Conciliazione, where he spoke briefly about priestly formation and his home diocese’s exceptional harvest of vocations. And though they were not on stage at the same time, Pope Leo XIV held an audience at the event.
The Jubilee of Priests, held June 25-27 in Rome, included an international meeting titled, “Joyful Priests – I have called you friends.” Fr. Sawyer devoted most of his presentation, which included photographic slides featuring Bishop Kemme and priests of the diocese, to exploring priestly formation in the context of his work as a seminary professor helping young men on the way to ordination. However, his opening remarks emphasized his home diocese’s record and identified some reasons for it.
“For many years now, we have experienced an abundance of priestly vocations,” he said. “This year, 51 men are in formation from our diocese, which is made up of 120 active priests.”
Fr. Sawyer pointed to three main factors behind those impressive figures.
“First,” he said, “most parishes in the diocese have Eucharistic adoration, often perpetual adoration. This is central to parish life and parishioners pray actively for Jesus to send laborers for his harvest.
“Second, generosity and openness to children in family life encourages a generosity to follow God’s will,” he continued. “When I taught high school, 12 young men entered seminary over a four-year period. Discerning a vocation was something ordinary. Their peers admired them for their desire to discern God’s will.”
The third contributing factor, Fr. Sawyer cited, is a healthy presbyterate, characterized by priests who embody the joy and fulfillment of their vocation. “Many of them live lives of deep prayer – intimacy with Jesus,” he said. “They love the Church as a husband loves his bride. They are normal men who allow Jesus to radiate through their humanity. They share vibrant priestly fraternity. They are approachable, available, and attentive fathers. Young men are inspired by priests who love to be priests.”
View from the gallery
The story of how Fr. Sawyer was able to offer his thoughts at a Vatican event began with a less formal meeting during mid-June in Fr. Reilley’s Vatican office, where he currently works as an official at the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy, which sponsored the event.
“I was asked to suggest someone involved in seminary formation who could speak in English at our conference for seminary formators,” Fr. Reilley said. “It all began as a casual conversation when one of my superiors dropped by my office to brainstorm. Our Fr. Sawyer immediately came to mind. Since he is on the faculty at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and in Rome finishing his doctorate in dogmatic theology, I suggested him.”
That exchange and the related ones that followed allowed Fr. Reilley an opportunity to cite why the example set by his home diocese may be one other dioceses seek to emulate. “In speaking with my superiors, I was also able to share with them some of the positive developments in the Diocese of Wichita, and this is why part of the press for the conference included the ‘good news’ about Wichita, as an additional incentive for people to understand why such a relatively small diocese like ours might have something to say to the world,” he said.
From his spot in the audience, Fr. Reilley saw Fr. Sawyer’s presentation, including its visual elements, resonate in an auditorium packed with bishops and priests from around the world. “People were struck by the photos of our bishop, smiling and surrounded by his priests, the beautiful ordination liturgies, and hearing about the large number of our seminarians and priests.”
The section of Fr. Sawyer’s talk that focused on his role as a formator at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary contained further, though subtle ties, to the Diocese of Wichita. Healing wounds of isolation is a foundational aspect of helping seminarians learn how to be honest and generous with God as they seek to do his will, he said, and understanding one’s vocation in a relational sense is central to living it out well.
“His talk touched on something that is part of the reason for the large number of priestly vocations in our diocese – the interior life, based on knowing and loving the Lord Jesus,” Fr. Reilley said. “I looked around the room and saw bishops and priests from around the world nodding in agreement with Father Sawyer that ‘Our primary work . . . is to assist the man in the work of interiority, as he lets God into all of his things.’ Letting God into all of our things is, I think, another way to describe our stewardship way of life, and Fr. Sawyer brought the richness of our Wichita way of life to Rome.”
Fr. Reilley and Fr. Sawyer were able to enjoy a brief exchange with the pope later, which offered an opportunity to suggest they get together in November. “I was proud when I was able to tell our Holy Father, Pope Leo, that I am a priest of Wichita, and to see him nod knowingly,” Fr. Reilley said. “I first met the then-Cardinal Robert Prevost two years ago at the Thanksgiving Day Mass and dinner at the Villa Stritch (the residence for American priests working in the Roman Curia). I invited the now-Pope Leo to join us again this year for Thanksgiving. He didn’t commit totally, but he did say, ‘I’ll have to look into that.’”