August 18, 2006

Marianists begin vocations Web site

The Marianist Province of the United States has launched a Web site that features information on vocations to the religious order.

The Web site, www.marianist.com/vocations, provides an in-depth look at the Marianists and their ministries. There also are interactive tools to assist visitors in discerning their call to religious life.

More than 50 percent of the religious order’s vocation inquiries have come via the Marianists’ Web site, said Brother Brian Halderman, who led the development of the vocations Web site.

"We must invite young men to consider this wonderful way of life, and the Internet provides us with a new means of invitation," he said. "Young people are making major life choices based on information they find online. Religious life needs to be represented in the abundance of choices placed before them."

Brother Halderman cited a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study, which indicated that 45 percent of Internet users say the Internet helped them in making major life decisions.

The Marianists’ site features a video tour of the formation process, videotaped responses from Marianist brothers to frequently asked questions about vocations and blogs from two Marianist brothers who are chronicling their experiences in formation, ministry and community.

The site also includes links to a Spanish-language version of the site and additional information on Marianist vocation information in Eastern Africa, India, Ireland and Mexico, which also are part of the United States province.

The Marianist Province of the United States includes almost 600 priests and brothers. Its headquarters is in St. Louis.

Blessed William Joseph Chaminade founded the Marianists, formally called the Society of Mary, in France in 1817. The order has had a presence in the United States since 1849.