A new vocations campaign is launching this Good Shepherd Sunday and it’s one the whole Diocese is invited to play a part in.
Everything you need to take part is on this page.
This weekend, across every Mass in the Diocese of Nottingham, Bishop Patrick is inviting every Catholic to take part in something new: a campaign called Called by Name.
The invitation is simple: to honour, by name, a young man aged 18 or over whom you believe could be a great priest. A son, brother, friend, colleague, or face in the pew. Someone in whom you have already seen something.
Those whose names are submitted will receive a personal letter from the Bishop, an invitation to meet him, and warm accompaniment from Father Neil Peoples, our Vocations Director. There is no pressure. No expectation. Just the gift of being noticed.
If you can’t be at Mass this weekend, or if a name comes to mind later in the week, you can submit it here. The form takes under two minutes to complete.
You can also email names directly to vocations@dioceseofnottingham.uk. You are welcome to submit more than one name.
Read at every Mass across the Diocese on 18–19 April 2026, this letter announces the launch of the Called by Name campaign and explains why Bishop Patrick believes this is a moment for the whole Church to act together.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Today I am announcing a special campaign for Vocations to the Priesthood in our Diocese. The ‘Called by Name’ Campaign is based on a project run by the Archdiocese of Denver. The aim is to identify faithful young men in our Diocese who, through God’s providence, may have a vocation to the Priesthood.
The campaign will take place next Sunday - Good Shepherd Sunday.
Our Diocese has been blessed with many good priests, but we still have a need for ‘more workers for the harvest’. In the past our Diocese has benefited from priests from Ireland and, in recent years, from Africa and Asia. It is my belief that we have future priests in our own parishes and schools, but we need the entire Church to identify them, so that we can accompany them as they discern their vocations.
I invite all Catholics to submit the names of young men, 18 years and older, that you would like to honour for having a love for Christ and his Church, and who exhibit a strong faith, and have a heart for service and leadership.
I will send each one of these young men a letter of congratulations and encouragement and arrange a meeting with them. In addition, our Vocations Director, Father Neil Peoples, will offer support as they discern their vocations, especially inviting them to join regional get-togethers to consider the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood.
The Diocese values all vocations but, at this present time, we have an urgent need to nurture vocations to the priesthood. So, I ask that you participate in this campaign and join me in praying that the Lord will raise up many new Shepherds for our Diocese!
With prayers for you all,
+Patrick McKinney
Bishop of Nottingham
Bishop Patrick: “Why are we doing this?” (Released Friday 24 April)
Father Neil Peoples: “What happens next?” (Released Saturday 25 April)
Seminarian — “Me? As a priest?” (Released Sunday 26 April)
Father Limn — “Was it worth it?” (Released Monday 27 April)
All four videos are also available as a playlist on our YouTube channel.
Whether you’re at Mass this weekend, joining us from elsewhere, or simply holding a name that comes to mind later, here’s how to take part:
Pick up a pew card at any Mass in the Diocese on Sunday 26 April. Write the young man’s name. Drop it in the collection basket. That’s it.
If you’d like to think and pray about it, take a pew card home with you. Return it at a later date to your parish or post it to the Diocesan Offices.
Use the form at the top of this page, or email vocations@dioceseofnottingham.uk with the young man’s name and, if you have them, his contact details.
The form remains open throughout the week and beyond. There is no deadline. You are welcome to submit more than one name.
Any young man aged 18 or over who shows a love for Christ and his Church, a strong faith, and a heart for service and leadership. He does not need to have expressed any interest in the priesthood himself, you are honouring what you have already seen in him.
No. The letter he receives from Bishop Patrick is a letter of encouragement, not an expectation. He is free to read it, reply, meet the Bishop, or simply do nothing. This campaign is about honouring, not recruiting.
Not at all. Many priests only began to consider their vocation after someone else noticed something in them. Your role is simply to name what you have seen. The rest is between him, the Bishop, and God.
Called by Name is designed for third-party nominations, someone noticing something in someone else. If you believe God may be calling you to the priesthood, we’d love to hear from you directly. Please email vocations@dioceseofnottingham.uk and Father Neil Peoples will be in touch.
The Diocese values all vocations -to marriage, religious life, consecrated life, and the single life- and our Mission Plan calls us to foster all of them. Called by Name is a specific campaign responding to the current need for priestly vocations. All vocations will continue to be prayed for and supported across the Diocese.
Names are held securely by the Diocese’s Vocations Office. Bishop Patrick writes to each young man personally. Father Neil Peoples follows up with pastoral support. No names are published or shared beyond the vocations team.
The Called by Name model was developed by the Archdiocese of Denver in the United States. The Diocese of Nottingham is the first in the United Kingdom to adopt the approach. It is rooted in our own five-year Mission Plan, Go Make Disciples, which calls every baptised person to play a part in the mission of the Church.
Lord of the harvest,
you call each of us by name.
Give us the courage to notice
what you have placed in others.
Give us the voice to speak their names aloud.
And raise up, in our Diocese,
shepherds after your own heart.
Amen.
Help the invitation reach further. Share this page with someone who might recognise a young man in their life, or who might find themselves honoured by having their own name submitted.
Follow the conversation: @dioceseofnottingham on Instagram and Facebook. #CalledByName
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