The vocation to the Catholic priesthood is a highly noble decision that any young man can choose. In Matthew 22:14, Jesus states: 'Many are called, but only a few are chosen.' This reflects the tough demands and challenges of pursuing the Catholic priesthood. Beyond academic, spiritual, physical, and psychological requirements, a quiet obstacle also deters many young men from this path. This quiet obstacle forms the core of my appreciative article.

In a society where social class, academic success, and financial ability are key criteria for judgment, the Catholic Priesthood uniquely meets all these standards. The era when being merely prayerful and religious was sufficient for ordination has passed. Today, priests are expected to be among the most learned class of people, because of the training and formation received from the Seminary. 

Furthermore, the demand for priests has increased tremendously, especially with the decline in religious vocations from Western Society; hence, the African continent has become the hub of vocations from which the Catholic Church hopes to encourage vocations to continue the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This has led to the establishment of local and indigenous religious congregations, to help train priests and religious as Missionaries wherever the Church may have needed them. 

So, even as we keep praying to God to raise more vocations into the religious life, in line with the prayer of Jesus in Matthew 9:37-38 (The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest). We have to be wary of the quality of Priests that the Church produces from the Seminaries. This is why, the Former Superior of the Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Victor Onwukeme, MSP, during one of his many conferences with us as Seminarians in the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul, Gwagwalada-Abuja, Nigeria, said: 'Though the Church needs priests, however, she cannot afford to produce nor accept any kind of priest'. 

This means that the Church needs a Holy priest, an intelligent priest, a healthy priest, and a good priest. Hence, in order to achieve these qualities in a priest, a huge human investment is required, and since the Church is not a profit organization, she relies on the support of her generous members and the entire faithful, to help in the training and formation of priests. 

This is why the Missionary Society of St. Paul of Nigeria (MSP), which is a missionary congregation, founded by Dominic Cardinal Ekandem and established by the Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria in 1977, annually seeks the prayerful support and financial generosity of Catholics across the world to help in the training of her Seminarians and in supporting her Priests working in very difficult and rural as well as pastorally fulfilling missions. 

Those who consciously and intentionally decided to partner with this missionary group established by the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria are called "The Associate Missionaries of St. Paul (AMSP). As a missionary society, the MSP has survived this long; it is all thanks to the numerous supports of our AMSP brothers and sisters. This explains why we consider the 'AMSP' the heartbeat of the missionary Society of St. Paul. We pray that God will bless all those who support the mission of the MSP. 

Those who sponsor Seminarians, those who support priests in rural communities, and those who remember us in their prayers and 'Final Will', shall receive the blessings of the Lord of the Harvest through Christ our Lord. Amen

Spurred by this awareness of the growing need for priests across the World, and the corresponding difficulties in training fine and quality priests for the mission, the MSP priests working in Italy have decided to establish the Associate Missionaries of St. Paul, here in their mission in Italy, so that more people will be involved in the training of priests. This event was celebrated on the 25th of January 2026, which is also the feast day of the Conversion of St. Paul of Tarsus, the Patron saint of the Missionary Society of St. Paul. Many of the MSP priests working in Italy were in attendance, including other diocesan priests who are also Missionaries at heart. The celebration witnessed the solemn admission of twenty-four (24) new members who prayerfully chose and have decided to join in the missionary activities of the MSP Fathers. 

The celebration ended with a brief prayer meeting, during which we prayed for missionaries across the world and for our Seminarians in the seminary. It is our prayer that this inauguration of the AMSP, at the Anglophone African Catholic Community of Padova, will spread to other parishes and communities in Italy, so that more men and women of goodwill will join in the support of the missionary mandate of the Church of Christ. 

May God bless the Missionary Society of St Paul.

May God bless the Associate members of the MSP (AMSP).

May God bless all Missionaries across the world.

May the Lord of the Harvest continue to ignite authentic Priestly Vocation in the hearts of more young men.

May the Lord continue to bless and sustain His Church on earth. 

St. Paul our patron.... Pray for us

Our Lady of the mission... Pray for us. 

Written by

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Nnamdi Megwara, MSP.