During the “Year for Priests,” we are encouraged to educate ourselves on the lives of those priests who went above and beyond to bring the message of Christ to all. To learn more about these priests click their picture or name below. The Newman Center will keep you up-to-date on events pertaining to the “Year for Priests.”

Beginning on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 19, Pope Benedict XVI issued a letter declaring a “Year for Priests.” An International gathering of priests with the Holy Father in Rome on June 19, 2010 will conclude the year.

St. John Vianney was the patron saint of parish priests until the Pope declared him the Universal Patron of Priests on the 150th Anniversary of the Curé d’Ars death.

In the U.S. the faithful are encouraged to participate in the “Year for Priests” through prayer, appreciation, and special indulgences that the Pope has granted. “The Year for Priest,” is also a time in which Americans are called to remember those priests being looked at for possible canonization, namely Fr. McGivney founder of the Knights of Columbus ; Fr. Flanagan founder of Boys Town ; Archbishop Fulton Sheen the Servant of God, Fr. Vincent Capodonna a Navy Chaplain, and Fr. Solanus Casey a worker for the sick and poor. Kansans continue to pray for what is known as the “Fr. Kapaun Cause. ” Fr. Emil Kapuan, a priest for the Diocese of Wichita serving in the Korean War, was taken as a prisoner of war where he continued to minister to his fellow soldiers until his final breath.