VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- On Sunday, May 3, Pope John Paul II will ordain 30 new priests for service to the Diocese of Rome. The ceremony, to take place at St. Peter's Basilica, will coincide with the world day of prayer for religious vocations.

      In preparation for the sacrament, the young men to be ordained will participate-- along with members of their families-- in an evening prayer vigil at St. John Lateran on Saturday evening, May 2.

      During the 1990s, the number of ordinations for the Rome diocese has consistently fallen between 30 and 40.

April 30, 1998 volume 9, no. 84         DAILY CATHOLIC