On Saturday, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo ordained its newest and only priest of the year, C.J. Wild. The 28-year-old joins a small list of newly ordained priests in Buffalo in recent years. There were none last year and only one in each year of 2023 and 2024.
Wild, a Lancaster native who grew up in the Our Lady of Pompeii parish, told BTPM NPR he believes there is not a vocation crisis. Still, one of faith.
“The vocations crisis, some would say it's not really a vocations crisis, it's more of a crisis of faith," said Wild. "It's not that the Lord isn't calling people to be priests, he is, he's calling people to be priests, calling men to be priests, but it's really a question of are we maybe courageous enough or willing enough to make those sacrifices to become a priest.”
On the other end of the spectrum, after decades of decline due to various reasons, Catholic Dioceses across the country are seeing and reporting double-digit, year-over-year increases in individuals formally entering the church.
A 2026 analysis by the popular prayer app Hallow found an average 38% year-over-year surge in adults entering the Catholic Church via OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) across U.S. dioceses.
Buffalo Diocese Vocations Director Father David Baker said since the COVID pandemic, the church has seen a notable increase, especially among young adults.
“It caused a lot of interior exploration, and of course, a lot of exploration on the internet, which eventually, through a lot of things that probably weren't so good for them, led them to things like the Bible in a year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz and Bishop Robert Barron, and they started to see that there's a real solidity there that you hear a lot of things about the Catholic Church, but when you look into it, you find this pretty rigorous, you know, it's intellectual, but it also fills emotional needs.” said Fr. Baker.
Conversions from online ministries and social media content are becoming a significant instrument to bring people into the church. Baker added, "Jesus gave the church two missions: baptize and teach. In other words, evangelize. So, you have to go where people are, right?"
So then, a fair question to ask is, why an increase in practice, but not in the priesthood? Being in church is one thing, but then going back to questions many people struggle with and eventually reach: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Father Baker said it’s hard to discern any major decision in our lives if we are constantly drawn in by the endless stimulation that is all around us.
“Sometimes, it's not that people are unwilling. People just didn't know. They never heard the still small voice of God, because our culture became very secular, very busy, very noisy, and we surround ourselves with a lot of stimulation all day long, you know, some places where the television never turns off all day, and you can't hear the voice of God in that kind of an environment as easily,” said Fr. Baker.
The Diocese of Buffalo currently has 10 seminarians in formation, and Father Baker said that, looking at the current applications, the number next year is expected to be larger.
"Part of the hope is just the promises we have in Scripture. Jesus said, 'I will not abandon my church.' We have this assurance from God Himself that we're going to succeed. I feel like the human being is not created to walk in darkness, and when you look at our culture, people are walking in darkness, or have been for a long time, and they're starting to crave the light, so these are the things that give me hope," Fr. David said. "My phone is ringing a lot more often than it has in the last couple of years. I feel like we've bottomed out, and we're starting to come up again. What I say to a lot of people, because I talk with the Vocation Directors all over New York state and even nationally to some degree, and everybody's feeling the same thing. It seems like the tide is coming in and all boats are rising."
Bishop Michael Fisher said at the conclusion of Wild's ordination Saturday that each day is difficult, and that the diocese needs three to four times the number of priests that it currently has.
