January 20, 2012

Catholic schools provide models for religious vocations

A newly ordained Father William Bevington, center, celebrates his first Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville on Aug. 31, 1952. The late Msgr. George Rohling, at left, was Father Bevington’s teacher at Father Ryan High School and encouraged him to explore his priestly vocation. Throughout the Diocese of Nashville’s history, Catholic schools have been integral to fostering religious vocations.

Andy Telli, Tennessee Register

Father William Bevington, who celebrated the 60th anniversary of his ordination last December, was among 50 students who graduated from Father Ryan High School in 1942. From his class, seven eventually became seminarians and six became priests.

Father Ryan, as well as the other Catholic schools he attended in his life, the Cathedral School, Overbrook School and the University of Notre Dame, had “a great impact on me as far as my vocation,” Father Bevington said.

It is a story that has played out for centuries and continues to unfold today.

“Catholic schools lay a foundation for a deeply rooted relationship with Jesus Christ,” said Sister Mary Emily Knapp, O.P., the director of vocations for the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation based in Nashville. “It’s only in this relationship with Jesus Christ that one can hear Christ calling to be a priest or a sister.”

The Nashville Dominicans, one of the fastest growing religious orders in the United States, have 60 sisters in formation, and of that number 60 to 70 percent at some point in their life attended a Catholic school. And the Congregation has many sisters who were introduced to the Dominicans when attending one of the many schools across the country where the Dominicans have served as teachers or principals.

Although Catholic schools are not the only path to a religious vocation, said Sister Mary Emily, who herself attended public schools until she enrolled at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, as a college freshman, they are helping to build a culture of vocations.

“Recent initiatives in Catholic schools have fostered a greater awareness that each person has a unique calling from God and opened their horizons to the possibility of a call to the priesthood or religious life,” Sister Mary Emily said.

Building a culture of vocations in Catholic schools at every level begins with encouraging students to pray about what God’s plan for them is, Sister Mary Emily said. “Every young Catholic man or women should ask the question are they being called to be a priest or religious,” said Sister Mary Emily.

Catholic schools also can expose students to priests and religious so they can learn about their lives, said Sister Mary Emily, and remind them “this is a possibility.” She and other sisters are often invited to speak at Catholic schools at every level about their vocations and their lives. They also are contacted often by students who have been assigned by their teachers to interview a sister, she added.

The last step in building a culture of vocations is to invite people to consider whether they have a religious vocation, she said.

“I think it is important that teachers, priests, religious, parents and even grandparents are not afraid to encourage a young woman or man to the religious life or the priesthood,” Sister Mary Emily said. “If nothing else, this plants a seed and lets them know that they could make a good priest or religious sister. …

“This small word of encouragement could be just what is needed to take the step to the seminary or convent,” she added.

Father Bevington and Mercy Sister Judith Coode found inspiration for their vocations in their teachers at Nashville’s Catholic schools.

For Father Bevington, it was the late Msgr. George Rohling, who was one of his teachers at Father Ryan.

“To me Msgr. Rohling was the best possible model of a priest,” Father Bevington said. “He was very humble, a very cheerful disposition. I never saw him angry.”

Msgr. Rohling took a personal interest in all of his students, including Father Bevington. “He got me involved in the school newspaper and also the service clubs,” Father Bevington said.

When Father Bevington began considering whether he might have a vocation to the priesthood, Msgr. Rohling was one of the few people he talked to about it. “I didn’t want to become a priest because somebody wanted me to. I wanted it to be between me and God,” Father Bevington said. “The ones I did talk to, thank goodness, didn’t put any pressure on at all. They were there to listen. That’s what I needed.”

After graduating from Father Ryan, Father Bevington enrolled at the University of Notre Dame to study engineering through a U.S. Navy program. After the war, he went to work for the McDonnell Aircraft Corp. in St. Louis, but continued to talk to Msgr. Rohling about becoming a priest. It was a nudge from Msgr. Rohling that finally convinced him to give the seminary a try. “It was now or never,” Father Bevington recalled thinking.

Sister Judith attended the old Cathedral School for elementary and high school, and was taught by the Sisters of Mercy throughout her school years.

“They wanted us to do the best that we could do, to reach our full potential,” Sister Judith recalled of her Mercy teachers. “They were very encouraging, supportive.”

She too was inspired by one of her high school teachers. The late Sister Adrian Mulloy, R.S.M. “was very instrumental in my life,” said Sister Judith, who was a teacher and principal for more than 30 years and recently retired as the community coordinator at the Mercy Convent on Pennington Bend Road in Donelson.

Her family also helped nurture her faith and her vocation, and she followed her sister into the order after graduating from Cathedral High School.

Her experience wasn’t unusual. Many of the Mercy sisters from Tennessee were first introduced to the order by attending one of the many schools in the state where the Mercy Sisters taught, including the Cathedral School and St. Bernard Academy in Nashville, Immaculate Conception High School in Memphis and Knoxville Catholic High School, Sister Judith said.

Catholic schools continue to play an important role in fostering vocations, said Father Bevington, who served as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools during his priesthood.

Teachers provide important models for students of adults living their faith, he said, and “you learn your religion better if you’re in a school where the whole philosophy is immersed in Catholic teaching.”