Austria's church celebrates: 26 new priests in 2025!

Austria's church celebrates: 26 new priests in 2025!

The consecutive of at least 26 new priests are pending in the Catholic Church of Austria, as reported kath.net. This number is based on a survey by the "Kathpress" news agency at dioceses and priestly training centers and may be even higher, since some consecration dates in order have not yet been determined. The average age of the new priests is 34 years, with half of these candidates between 27 and 31 years old. A gratifying trend: more and more consecration candidates are coming from Austria, which is shown in the number of 13 -born Austrians this year - a clear increase compared to previous years.

The most important ordination took place on June 14th in the St. St. Stephen's Cathedral under the direction of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn. Five new priests were ordained here: Lukas Dominikus Albert (42, Vienna), Michael Haller (32, cold people), Tibor Bujdak (59, Slovakia), Jedrzej Bala -Wender (26, Poland) and Matthias Aumüller (29, Buchegg). It is particularly worth mentioning that both Bala users and Aumüller completed their training in the Diocesan Mission College of Redemptoris Mater.

expected consecrations and tendencies

On June 21, Andreas Kerschenbauer (30, Wenigzell) will be ordained a priest in Normandy. On June 28, four consecration celebrations are pending in the Mariendom Linz, in which Jakob Stichlberger (29, Mattighofen) and three Nigerians are raised to the priestly. On this day, Killian Deppisch (28, Würzburg) in Bregenz is also consecrated. June 29 is another important day for the church where further consecrations take place in the St. Pöltner Cathedral and in the Graz Cathedral.

particularly gratifying: The number of consecrations exceeds the average of the past ten years. The official church statistics for the 2015 to 2023 consecration year shows a trend towards more new priests, with the numbers ranging from 15 to 31 in recent years. The historical cut is around 22 consecrations per year, which makes the current situation all the more remarkable.

criteria and preparation for the priestly profession

In order to become a priest, certain requirements are necessary: ​​faith, spiritual calling, teamwork and both mental and physical health are essential. In addition, the candidates need the Matura or an equivalent study permit. The training includes several years in the seminar or in religious training centers and usually starts with a propaedary year.

The consecration takes place in three stages: deacon, priest and bishop, and this is done by laying on of hand and prayer of the bishop. Cardinal Schönborn, the most common consecration donor, has already led six consecrations this year, and the upward trend to the Heiiijüngeren remains unbroken, which is a good sign of the future of the church in Austria, including the message from [katholisch.de] (https://www.katholisch.de/artikel/62301-mumfrieb-so--- newriester-bekommt-oesterreich-jahr) and [OTS] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250612_ots0033/priestweihen-2025- Mehr-jungpriest-als-spaet-called).