When Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington donate to the 2026 Annual Catholic Services Appeal, in a special way they are making an investment in the Church’s future, because the appeal provides significant support for vocations and seminary education.
“Participating in the Annual Appeal is a participation in the formation of our future priests. Your financial donation makes an immediate impact by allowing for the formation and education of our 65 seminarians, which is in turn an investment in the future servant-leaders of the local Church, where your children and grandchildren will be formed and educated in the faith,” said Father Mark Ivany, the director of priest vocations for the Archdiocese of Washington.
The 2026 Annual Catholic Services Appeal – which provides essential support for more than 70 of the archdiocese’s ministries in Washington, D.C., and the five surrounding Maryland counties – has the theme “Be the Light,” reflecting the call that all Catholics have to share Christ’s love and light in the world.
In addition to providing key funding for vocations, seminary education and clergy and religious support; the annual appeal also supports Catholic education and catechesis; chaplains for campus ministries, hospitals and prisons; social justice and outreach ministries; communication and digital evangelization; and parish, family and life ministries.
Close to home, the Annual Catholic Services Appeal supports the education of the Archdiocese of Washington’s seminarians studying at the Saint John Paul II Seminary, which the archdiocese opened in 2011 as the world’s first seminary named for the pope who was a role model and is now a patron saint for priests giving their lives totally to God and the people they serve. The seminary is located near the Catholic University of America in Northeast Washington, D.C., where the seminarians can walk to classes.
On a typical day, the seminarians attend morning prayer and Mass together in their chapel, go to classes at Catholic University in the morning, and after lunch, they have more classes before Eucharistic Adoration in the afternoon. After vespers and dinner, they attend talks or formation classes and have time for recreation.
As the 2025-26 school year opened this past fall, the Saint John Paul II Seminary opened its doors to 63 seminarians, including 21 studying to be future priests for the Archdiocese of Washington. The other seminarians come from 10 other dioceses, mostly from the neighboring Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Diocese of Arlington and the Diocese of Richmond.
Describing the spirit of the seminarians living and studying there, Father Carter Griffin – the seminary’s rector – said, “There’s a beautiful eagerness to do the Lord’s will, to discern where He’s calling them.”
Simon Capion, a 19-year-old seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington who is from St. Andrew Apostle Parish in Silver Spring, said he was inspired by example of several priests after witnessing their joy in celebrating Mass and serving the people at their parishes, and seeing their love and reverence for the Eucharist.
The seminarian, who was homeschooled, added, “I’m really excited. We’re in an apostolic age. More men are entering the seminary, and more people are entering the Church at Easter. I’m really excited for the future of the Church, and to be a part of that as our Christian mission.”
During Lent, parishes in the archdiocese will be participating in a drive to pray for seminarians, with cards being distributed so people can pray for them by name.
People’s support for the appeal, and their prayers for seminarians, mean a lot to Capion.
“I realize the power of prayer since coming to the seminary. So many people are saying they’ll pray for me when they realize I’m a seminarian, and I’m realizing how much impact that prayer has in my life,” he said. “Seeing how much they love the priesthood is a great reminder to me how much of a gift the priesthood really is.”
Seminarian Patrick Flynn from Sacred Heart Parish in Bowie, an 18-year-old graduate of The Heights School in Potomac, said he was inspired to enter the seminary by witnessing the sacrifice of priests giving their lives in service to Christ in the Church. Sister Fiat Joy Flynn, his sister, made her first profession of vows last year as a member of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee, and he has an uncle, Father Thomas Flynn, who is a priest with the Legionaries of Christ serving in Cincinnati.
Asked about his dreams for the future, Flynn said he hopes to be a holy priest and a spiritual father to the people he will serve.
That point was echoed by seminarian Chase Pearson from Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Potomac, who graduated from DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville. One of the things that drew him to seek the priesthood, he said, is “the opportunity to be a father to whoever I meet.”
Priests, he said, can help people come to understand that “we’re on a pilgrimage on earth, and our goal is to get to heaven.”
Pearson, who is 20, said he appreciates how people support the education of seminarians through the annual appeal, and he is especially thankful for their prayers.
Two priests serving at Saint John Paul II Seminary – Father Benjamin Petty and Father Brendan Glasgow – have a special perspective on the impact that local Catholics’ support and prayers has, because they were seminarians there together before being ordained as priests of the Archdiocese of Washington in 2019. Father Petty now serves there as the vice-rector, and Father Glasgow serves as a formation advisor to seminarians in the first stage of their studies.
That support from local Catholics and their prayers “is absolutely critical,” said Father Petty, who added that he is grateful for the education and formation that he received at the seminary, which continues to be provided today to the seminarians there who will be the next generation of priests providing the sacraments in the future to families and individuals in the archdiocese at all stages of their lives.
Father Griffin – who is the author of several books, including “Forming Families, Forming Saints” and “Cross-Examined: Catholic Responses to the World’s Questions” – said a special aspect of his work is visiting parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington, and witnessing how priests who earlier studied at the Saint John Paul II Seminary are now serving people in those parishes.
“(It’s) a joy knowing people are getting really fine priests,” Father Griffin said, adding, “It’s a real joy to see that.”
(The Annual Catholic Services Appeal has its Commitment Weekend at parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Washington on Feb. 7 and 8, and the appeal’s Follow-up Weekend is on Feb. 14 and 15. For more information, go online to https://adw.org/ways-to-give/annual-appeal/ .)
