WASHINGTON (USCCB) — The 2016 class ordained to the priesthood were about 17 when they first considered a vocation to the priesthood. Seven in 10 (70 percent) say they were encouraged by a parish priest, a friend (48 percent), parishioners (46 percent) and mothers (42 percent). On average, they lived in the diocese for which they will be ordained for 15 years before entering seminary. Religious ordinands knew the members of their religious institute an average of five years before entering.

The total number of potential ordinands for the class of 2016 is 548, down slightly from 595 in 2015 and up from 477 in 2014.

Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations, found that the data gave reason for hope but also provide areas for further growth.

“Each path to the priesthood begins with a call from Christ,” Bishop Burbidge said. “This is a powerful reminder of how we are all able to be instruments in helping others to discern God’s will.”

“The fact that our two men have taken very different paths to get to this point highlights that the Lord continues to call a variety of men to consider the possibility of priestly service in our diocese,” said Father Brian Alford, director of the Office for Vocations for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. “There is no one mold that men have to fit into in order to be ‘qualified’ to serve the church in this ministry. The Lord chooses those whom he wants and then equips them with the graces necessary to fulfill the sacred duty of leading people to him.”

Deacons Paul Bonk of St. Mary and St. Mark Parish, Madison and Braden Maher of St. Anthony Parish in Effingham will be ordained by Bishop Thomas John Paprocki on May 28 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield.

The Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) collects the data annually for the U.S. bishops. Among the survey’s major findings:

• The average age for the Class of 2016 is 35. Eight in 10 respondents are between 25 and 39, slightly older than in 2015.

• Three in 10 (30 percent) were born outside the United States, with the largest numbers coming from Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland and Vietnam. On average, respondents born in another country have lived in the U.S. for 13 years.

• Most have been Catholic since infancy, although eight percent became Catholic later in life. Eighty-two percent report that both of their parents are Catholic and more than a third (35 percent) have a relative who is a priest or a religious.

• More than half completed college (59 percent) before entering the seminary. One in six (18 percent) entered the seminary with a graduate degree.

• Nearly half of responding ordinands (45 percent) attended a Catholic elementary school, which is a rate slightly higher than that of all Catholic adults in the U.S. In addition, ordinands are somewhat more likely than other U.S. Catholic adults to have attended a Catholic high school and they are much more likely to have attended a Catholic college (41 percent, compared to 7 percent among U.S. Catholic adults).

• Five in 10 ordinands (52 percent) report some type of full-time work experience prior to entering the seminary, most often in education. Five percent of responding ordinands report prior service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

• Seven in 10 (70 percent) indicate they served as an altar server and about half (53 percent) reporting service as a lector.

• About seven in 10 report regularly praying the rosary (73 percent) and participating in eucharistic adoration (73 percent) before entering the seminary and finally, about half indicated that they were discouraged from considering the priesthood.

The full report can be found online at www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/vocations/ordination-class/index.cfm.