News

• IChoseYou.com ads will run in the following venues, with additional media planned for the future:
  - Regal Cinemas, Hamburg
  - WLTO-FM, Hot 102
  - WXZZ-FM, Z-Rock 103
  - WLXX-FM, 92.9 The Bear
  - WMJR-AM, 1380, Relevant Radio
  
• Prior to developing and launching the campaign, informal research was conducted with young people and seminarians to find out their thoughts about vocations, information they wanted to know, how they make career and vocation decisions and what media they consume. Research tools included focus groups with teens and young adults, an online survey with seminarians, a website testing survey, personal interviews and large group Q/A sessions.
• The Catholic Diocese of Lexington, a mission diocese, covers 50 counties in the central and eastern half of the state. It has 64 parishes and missions serving more than 48,000 Catholics and thousands of non-Catholics through its charitable programs.
• A variety of individuals are available for interviews upon request, including priests, deacons, vocation office personnel, volunteers, and program participants.
• Diocese contact information:
  The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington
  1310 West Main Street
  Lexington, Kentucky 40508-2048
  Telephone: (859) 253-1993
  Facsimile: (859) 254-6284
  www.cdlex.org
  
• A May 2005 survey found that 83 percent of Catholics participating agreed that baptism commits all Catholics to some form of ministry and three quarters of them considered their own work as such ministry. (Research conducted for Le Moyne College/Zogby International Contemporary Catholic Trends.)
• With seven seminarians for 45,153 Catholics, the Catholic Diocese of Lexington in 2004 ranked 24th nationally among the 176 U.S. dioceses in the ratio of seminarians to Catholic residents. This is based on the most current data available and taken from the 2004 edition of The Official Catholic Directory (New Providence, NJ: P. J. Kenedy & Sons). The ranking was up 20 from 54th the previous year.
• There are currently 12 seminarians from the Diocese of Lexington. Two will be ordained May 20. Five candidates will soon be enrolled in seminaries.
• Twenty-two men are enrolled in the four-year formation program to become deacons. Their ordination will be held in 2008. Additionally, inquiries have been received from 38 prospects interested in the deaconate.
• Worldwide the number of Catholic seminarians increased from 63,882 in 1978 to 112,373, an increase of 76 percent.
• In the United States the number of Catholic seminarians decreased from 9,021 in 1978 to 4,790 in 2003, a reduction of nearly 47 percent.
• Faith on the Internet: Extensive research is available regarding how Americans use the Internet for faith-related reasons. A Pew Internet and American Life study conducted last year revealed nearly 82 million Americans have used the Internet for spiritual and religious purposes, 64 percent of the population. Findings indicate that the Internet is used to supplement, rather than replace, spiritual activities conducted through traditional religious institutions.
  Faith activities on the Internet include:
  - 38 percent sending and receiving emails with spiritual content,
  - 35 percent sending or receiving online greeting cards related to religious holidays,
  - 32 percent reading online news accounts of religious events and affairs,
  - 21 percent seeking information about how to celebrate religious holidays,
  - 17 percent have looked for information on where they could attend religious services,
  - 7 percent have made or responded to online prayer requests, and
  - 7 percent have made donations to religious organizations or charities.
  The most likely individual to use the Internet for religious reasons is a female Christian in the southern portion of the U.S.
• Funds for the project have been donated by anonymous Catholic parishes and individuals. Additional contributions are being sought for ongoing promotion.