Serra Club
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The Serra Club is an international lay apostolate for vocations recognized by the Holy See. Its patron is St. Junipero Serra, founder of several missions on the West Coast of the USA. He was canonized by Pope Francis on Sep 23, 2015 at a special ceremony in Washington D.C. The organization consists of over 20,000 Catholic lay men and women, belonging to over 800 clubs in over 40countries.
The Club is made up of several chapters and St. Paul the Apostle Parish is supported by the North Central Dallas Chapter, one of five chapters in the Diocese of Dallas. The clubs coordinate with and support the Director of Vocations of the Diocesan office and the local Parish to realize its mission.
Mission of the Club: To coordinate with and support the parish and the Director of Vocations at the Diocesan Office in fostering and promoting vocations to consecrated religious life (male and female ). The current Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Dallas is Fr. Paul Bechter (pbechter@cathdal.org, Phone: 214-379-2860)
Vocation Awareness Program Click Here for the VAP Website
The VAP is a key program held once a year and offered to catholic men and women, between the ages of 18 and 40, who have an interest in pursuing a career in a consecrated religious order. The Vocation Discernment program is a unique and a proven opportunity for men and women to enhance their internal process of discernment and to find answers to the key question: Is God truly calling me to work
In his vineyard?
A weekend is dedicated to this effort and is offered to potential applicants who feel they have a calling to be priests, nuns, brothers or consecrated lay women. The weekend is usually held in June of each year and hosts the selected candidates at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. There are NO fees; private rooms and meals will be furnished free. The invited candidates will be under NO pressure to make a commitment of any kind. The weekend will include presentations, penal discussions, Q and A sessions and one on one dialogue with priests, sisters and brothers. The simple application form is posted on vpainfo.org. Prior to filling the application it is recommended that a candidate interested in applying should contact the priest or nun in the parish and have a discussion. Send an email to request a meeting with the pastor, Rev. Fr. John Szatkowski at frszatkowski@saintpaulchurch.org or call the Parish Office at 972-235-6105.
After filling the application you will receive a call from a Serra Club member for an informal telephonic or personal interview after which you will be notified of your selection to attend the discernment weekend.
If you, as a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle Church, know of someone in the parish who may be a potential candidate, please inform them of the program and encourage them to participate.
The expenses for the weekend and related promotional activities, including room, meals and travel expenses for the candidates, priests, nuns, and speakers is funded via donations and the sale of raffle tickets. Your generosity to this important mission is solicited. A check should be written ONLY to the Serra Club; in the memo section you may specify that the check is for a Donation. If you desire to make a donation or become a member you may contact your parish representative, Mr. Peter Lobo, At peterlobo@yahoo.com for details.
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