Many parish Vocations Committees are planning to initiate programs whereby a Holy item (e.g. a blessed crucifix or Chalice) will be passed from one family to another in the parish. Each family will keep the item in their home for a week, praying each day of that week for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. There are a wide variety of ways in which to organize and run such a wonderful program. This document presents a way in which to begin for those who may be new to this type of ministry.

Beginning: Select item, Select coordinator(s) and publicize the program.
The first issue to decide is what item to send around. A variety of these programs have been done in parishes all across the country. The holy items used have included a Franciscan San Damiano Crucifix, a portrait of the Parish Patron Saint, and a chalice. The item should be blessed by a priest before beginning. For this to succeed, one or two people will need to accept the responsibility for coordinating the program. The coordinator(s) will secure the object, insure it has been blessed, place bulletin advertisements, make a brief kickoff announcement at masses, compile the list of host families, and place calls each week to insure the transition of the object from one family to the next. Obviously, you will want as many families as possible to sign up to keep the item for a week. Consider coordinating the kickoff date to a significant date in the liturgical calendar, if possible. For example, you could begin on the Parish Patron Saint’s feast, the start of Advent, Immaculate Conception (Dec 8), Christmas, the Epiphany (Jan 6), Ash Wednesday, St. Joseph’s Feast Day (Mar 19), the Feast of the Incarnation (Mar 25), Palm Sunday, Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pentecost, Ascension Thursday, Sts. Peter and Paul’s Feast Day (Jun 29), the Feast of the Assumption (Aug 15), All Saints Day (Nov 1), or Christ the King. To generate awareness and interest, place an announcement in the parish bulletin for each of the 3 weeks prior to the kickoff date explaining the program and asking people to call the parish during office hours to sign up to be a host family. On the week prior to the kickoff, have someone from the vocations committee give a brief announcement about the program at all of the masses that weekend, with sign-up sheets at every exit. The coordinator(s) will collect and compile all of the names and phone numbers.

Organizing: Compile List
The coordinator(s) will then assign the first 52 names collected to the 52 weeks of the year, creating a list where after each week there is listed a family name and phone number. The coordinator will call the first family and arrange for deliver of the item. Along with the blessed item, the committee should provide a set of prayers for the family to pray. Such a set could be given in a booklet like the set of vocation-oriented prayers available from The St John Vianney Vocation Society (order them from Mike Goetz, 517 Rustic Trail, Beavercreek, OH 45434, Please include 75 cents per booklet to cover cost of printing/mailing) or the local Serra Club (see www.serraus.org for nearest Serra Club) or they could be compiled by the committee themselves. This booklet should be a gift to the family, so the committee will need 52 of them a year, which may require a small fund-raising effort. The list should be posted some place at the parish where the volunteer host families can see when the item will be at their home.

Transferring the Item.
Each Friday, the coordinator should call both the family currently hosting the item and the family about to receive the item and remind them about the upcoming transfer. Sometimes, the transfer may simply require the host family to leave it in the sacristy after Mass. Other times, it may be necessary to get the two families in contact with each other to arrange a time to pass it on over that weekend.

Expanding the program.
On the good chance that there is substantial interest, and well over 100 families wanting to participate, consider getting more than one item blessed. In such a case, build separate lists for each item and have separate coordinators to insure smooth transfers.

For information on starting a Traveling Crucifix Program click here, or contact Herman Gabriel at hgabriel@woh.rr.com.