Contact: Patrice Tuohy
Executive Editor
phone: 312.356.9900
 e-mail: pjtuohy@truequest.biz
web:  www.VocationMatch.com

VOCATIONMATCH.COM INQUIRERS-MORE, YOUNGER

UNDER 30s LOOKING FOR COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL OUTREACH

Chicago, September 28, 2010-Results from the nearly 6,600 people who completed VocationMatch.com profiles in the past year show a steady stream of young adult Catholics interested in a vocation as a Catholic sister, brother, or priest.

Launched in 2007, VocationMatch.com has seen an average of 6,400 completed profiles each year. The age range of respondents continues to trend younger with 54 percent under 30 and 17 percent in their 30s. According to 2010 VocationMatch.com participants, most desire servIce-oriented communities close to home, though an interest in missionary communities is on the rise; a majority were educated in Catholic schools; both men and women want to wear a religious habit; and many are not debt free.

Comparing 2010 VocationMatch statistics to prior-year trends:

• Interest in missionary communities has steadily risen from 16 percent in 2007 percent to 22 percent.
• 87 percent desire to wear a religious habit, although 26 percent prefer that the choice be optional (the latter a jump from 14 percent in 2007).
• 61 percent went to Catholic schools.
• 40 percent of participants are not free of debt (up from 28 percent in 2007).

VocationMatch.com allows an inquirer to create a profile that is matched against the profiles of hundreds of participating men's and women's Catholic religious orders. The service is free and inquirers receive their results immediately. They can use the descriptive listings, videos, and links featured in their results to learn more about matching communities and email their profiles to the ones they find of interest. Anyone may go through the Match-serious seeker (85 percent), curious one (13 percent), or educator (2 percent).

Among the many 2010 VocationMatch.com participants who found the website useful, M. Martin, a Franciscan seminarian, said: "I started thinking about a religious vocation about a year ago and a friend of mine recommended this site. It put me in contact with 52 different orders and societies . . . After getting a better idea of what I might be looking for, I was able to go back to my match results and apply my new understanding of what I was looking for and was able to spend more time talking to Societies that fit me more."

Other findings about 2010 Vocaton Match.com participants:

Who they are:

• English is the first language of choice for 69 percent; Spanish for 15 percent; French for 5 percent
• Nearly 78 percent live in the U.S.; 5 percent in the U.K.; 4 percent in Canada; and 2 percent in Ireland.
• 87 percent have done volunteer work or gone on religious retreats.

What they want:

• Apostolic, service-oriented communities continue to appeal to the most participants
• Nearly 60 percent prefer to live in communities with 4 or more people living under one roof.
• Ministries of interest include education, prayer, retreat work, and youth and campus ministry.

Vocation Match, is sponsored by VISION Vocation Guide, a publication of the National Religious Vocation Conference.

To try the free match service, go to VocationMatch.com. For complete Vocation Match response statistics, go to
http://www.vocation-network.org/statistics/response_statistics?year=2010.

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Vision Vocation Guide, in print and online in English, Spanish, and French at VocationGuide.org, is published by TrueQuest Communications of Chicago, on behalf of the National Religious Vocation Conference, a professional organization of Catholic Vocation Directors. In its 23^nd year, VISION VOCATION GUIDE is the most comprehensive resource available in print and online for those interested in consecrated life, religious communities, or vocation-related opportunities.