Pope's death inspires would-be priests in England

London, England, May 24, 2005 / 22:00 pm

The death of Pope John Paul II sparked inquiries about the priesthood among young Catholics in the United Kingdom, and the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales plan to ride this wave of interest and launch a national ad campaign for the priesthood.

Web site inquiries about the priesthood and other religious orders more than doubled to 846 last month, reported the London Telegraph.

This is the first such large-scale advertising campaign for the British bishops’ conference.

The advertising campaign, "Get collared for the challenge of a lifetime", will run on the London Underground during the summer, and could extend across the country.

The ad campaign will also go to the 18-to-30s festival in Birmingham next year. The festival is organized by Catholic Youth Services. Its director, Helen Bardy, said: "We want to reach out to young people in the fantastic way that Pope John Paul II did, at a time when feeling about his teaching is strong."

"Previously we have only advertised within the Church,” said Fr Paul Embery, director of the bishops’ National Office for Vocation. “By taking the campaign into other areas of young people's lives, we are hoping it will give them something to think about and keep the interest high."