"Apostles On The Road"

I recently enjoyed a quick conversation with a man who is very much on the move. His name is Father Bill Pruett, and he is the pastor of a parish that has three outlying missions in the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Unlike urban and suburban parishes, his mission territory comprises three counties and covers 6,000 square miles! The local tourist attraction, the No Man's Land Historical Museum, and the famous Pioneer Days Rodeo help describe the rural character of this part of America's Heartland.

As he spoke, however, Father Pruett's energy and enthusiasm were contagious. He talked excitedly of his hope to purchase a recently closed Montessori school and to transform it into a new Catholic school for his small community.

And, much as the early pioneers adapted to meet the demands of this prairie land, this vivacious pastor has mastered three languages to more effectively communicate in the native tongues of his sprawling and constantly growing congregations.

Reaching the back roads

Father Pruett is an "apostle on the road" traveling lonely highways and turning down dusty byways to seek out the too-often forgotten among us. He is a true missionary within the borders of our own country - and he embodies all that we, the Catholic Extension family, desire to support.

There are many ways that we can help him, but perhaps none is more important than to bring co-workers to join him on his vibrant missionary enterprise. The fact is that America's missions need more missioners, and they particularly need more priests like Bill Pruett.

In mission dioceses across our country, some 400 young adult and older men have answered God's call and are preparing for the priesthood. You will meet a few of them in the August edition of Extension Magazine. I hope that this issue will inspire you to assist these 400 seminarians as they move closer to the priesthood and to the moment when they will join the ranks of active home missioners.

A rich investment

It costs the poorest dioceses of our country an average of $25,000 every year for a minimum of six years to educate and provide for each seminarian in formation. Can you think of a better investment in the future of our Church than the sponsorship of a future priest imbued with the same mission spirit as Father Bill Pruett?

Some of you are in a position to offer a full scholarship. All of us are capable of contributing a portion of the cost.

May I ask you to make a donation to Catholic Extension's Seminarian Education Fund? Would you be willing to do it today before the next semester of seminary study begins in September?
Your prayers and financial support for seminarians are powerful expressions of your partnership with missioners like Father Bill Pruett.

Thank you for partnering with their dreams for the future of the Church in our country.