ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) 鈥� They are a day away from becoming Catholic priests, rehearsing for their ordination Mass under the gothic cathedral鈥檚 arches.
It鈥檚 a balmy Friday afternoon in June, and they are practicing where to stand, when to kneel. The weekend鈥檚 rituals will be the culmination of six years of seminary and .
There are so many of them 鈥� more than their diocese has ordained at one time in nearly 30 years 鈥� that it鈥檚 a challenge to fit in front of the altar.
Their bishop likes to call them 鈥渢he 12.鈥� Like the 12 apostles of Jesus, their number has become a mantra and a prayer. It offers hope there can still be joy and renewal in a church riven by division, crises and abuse.
there are engineers, a tech company founder and two future military chaplains. They range in age from 28 to 56. Most are U.S.-born, but some trace their roots to faraway countries with a strong Catholic presence: Cameroon, Mexico, Peru, Haiti.
They are entering the priesthood at an exciting time, just as begins his papacy. Yet, there remains an acute shortage of clergy like them. In the U.S., the number of priests has declined by more than 40% since 1970, according to CARA, a research center affiliated with Georgetown University.
During their final year of seminary, these 12 men have served as transitional deacons, offering baptisms, homilies and promising to live in obedience and celibacy. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already made the promises that are, I guess, 鈥榯he scariest,鈥欌�� said the Rev. Ricky Malebranche, one of the ordinands.
Soon they will be entrusted with more sacraments. As ordained priests, they will work at parishes around northern Virginia, with the ability to consecrate the Eucharist, hear confessions and anoint the sick.
For now, they shuffle side to side until they can fit in a row. Carefully they lie down to practice the act of prostration 鈥� arguably the most dramatic moment during an ordination ceremony. Elbows bent, hands cradling their heads, the men press their faces to the cold, marble floor.
It鈥檚 a position of vulnerability that signals absolute surrender.
鈥淲e鈥檙e laying before the Lord,鈥� the Rev. Mike Sampson, an ordinand, explained before the rehearsal. 鈥淲e鈥檙e laying our lives down.鈥�
Searching for something more
While neighboring dioceses have and face dire , the Diocese of Arlington is opening new churches. Its finances are solid.
This year鈥檚 class of new priests is the second largest in the diocese鈥檚 50-year history. The reasons behind that success 鈥渁re a little bit mysterious,鈥� said the Rev. Michael Isenberg, the diocese鈥檚 outgoing vocations director.
He points to one factor helping the recruiting pool: vibrant parishes, full of young professionals drawn to jobs around Washington, D.C.
Sampson, 42, was a government lawyer and raised a Protestant before he was baptized as a Catholic in 2013. Six years later, he enrolled in seminary to become a priest.
The Rev. Tim Banach, 31, worked as a consultant in the same office complex as Sampson. 鈥淚 enjoyed the work I was doing, but there was something more that I desired."
鈥淚 had the dream job,鈥� said the Rev. Alfredo Tuesta, 40, who earned a doctorate in engineering and was working at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory when he felt called to the priesthood. 鈥淚 had the job that I had trained many years to achieve 鈥� and it wasn鈥檛 enough.鈥�
At a Sunday family dinner two weeks before ordination, Malebranche鈥檚 father, Jacques, talked up these 鈥�12 great guys.鈥�
鈥淭his kid already had two master鈥檚 degrees,鈥� he said, pointing to his son Ricky, 37, who worked as a counselor and coach at a Catholic high school before seminary.
鈥淭hey had good lives. When they say they received a call, they mean it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey gave up a lot, and this is not easy.鈥�
A higher barrier to entry
Prospective priests undergo a rigorous screening process.
鈥淭his is going to sound crazy, but they鈥檙e normal,鈥� said the Rev. Donald J. Planty Jr., who mentored several of this year鈥檚 ordinands. 鈥淭hey can talk to anyone.鈥�
In the wake of the , there is a greater emphasis on applicants鈥� psychological health and emotional well-being. They go before an admissions board that includes women and laypeople, and as ordinands, meet with abuse survivors.
They ultimately answer to Bishop Michael Burbidge, the diocese鈥檚 avuncular prelate.
鈥淎 thing that has changed for the positive in the church is that bishops really know their men,鈥� said Burbidge, who calls, texts and meets with seminarians regularly. 鈥淲hen I was in seminary, there was no expectation that you would know the bishop.鈥�
Politically and theologically, young U.S. priests are more likely to identify as conservative or moderate than their clerical elders who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s, according to a 2023 report from the Catholic Project at Catholic University.
For these men in Virginia, the is not a deciding factor in their priesthoods. They have pledged, though, to uphold the church鈥檚 teachings, which remain conservative on issues such as gender identity, sexual orientation, contraception and abortion.
鈥淚 look at the young adults in our parishes, growing up in a world where in many ways the sacred has been removed,鈥� Burbidge said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e looking for something more. 鈥楪ive me beauty. Give me truth. Give me clarity.鈥� I see that in young adults in our church, and these men are products of that.鈥�
The sacrifices of priestly life
For many of the men, priesthood means forgoing dreams of an ordinary family life.
鈥淚 thought I was going to be a great dad and have a wonderful family,鈥� Malebranche recalled. 鈥淎nd I was like, 鈥楲ord, why would you not want that for me?鈥欌��
For many, there鈥檚 a grieving process in letting go of that vision, even for deeply Catholic families.
鈥淓very parent wants grandkids,鈥� said Banach, whose career change initially surprised his supportive Catholic parents. Priests give up biological children, he said, but are privileged to raise 鈥渟piritual children.鈥�
His fellow ordinand Malebranche ministers to families out of what he calls a 鈥渄eep love of my own for a family.鈥�
Two weeks before ordination, Malebranche channeled that love into a baptism conducted in Spanish, the parents鈥� native tongue.
He was nervous beforehand. A gregarious, gifted speaker, he is less confident in Spanish 鈥� though it鈥檚 necessary in a diocese where nearly half the .
鈥淚t was a beautiful ceremony,鈥� Gloria Marquez told him after, beaming and holding her 9-month-old. She said she and her husband had tried for nearly 20 years to have a baby.
Malebranche teared up, grateful to be part of the longed-for moment.
He wants the Catholic Church to be welcoming, especially for those who have been hurt. 鈥淚 really just want to make Catholicism warm,鈥� he said.
Like all the ordinands, he is very aware that in his clerical garb, he represents the church and the presence of Jesus.
鈥淚 have to be on every time I鈥檓 in this collar,鈥� Malebranche said. 鈥淭hat is a fitting weight for the gift of the priesthood, but it is a weight nonetheless.鈥�
A new chapter
Ordination-day morning had the nervous energy of a wedding, an apt parallel for the impending commitment and pageantry. Anxious parents took their places in pews alongside friends and family who traveled from around the world to witness the ceremony.
The evening would bring receptions in honor of the new priests, who would then have two weeks off before their new ministry assignments began.
Sampson was going to Italy with a priest friend. Banach was hiking part of the Appalachian Trail with a small kit for the Eucharist in his pack. Tuesta was flying to Lima, Peru, his birthplace, to celebrate with family.
Malebranche planned to visit loved ones in his native Virginia. 鈥淚鈥檓 kind of looking to show off,鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淚鈥檒l have my confessional stole on me at all times.鈥�
When their ordination Mass got underway, it was standing room only, with more than 1,200 well-wishers crowded into the cathedral.
As part of the three-hour service, nearly 200 priests lined up to embrace and welcome into the fold their new brothers, now cloaked in ivory and blue robes.
At the close of Mass, they walked down the aisle to cheers and applause, and the 12 priests were sent out, like the apostles who had come before them.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Tiffany Stanley, The Associated Press
