International Vocation Conference reconvenes in Paris

Sister Nathalie Becquart, Xav. of the French bishops' conference, will host the Paris meeting. She is pictured here speaking to the International Vocation Conference that took place in February in Rome.

The International Vocation Conference (IVC), originally convened by the NRVC in February in Rome, reconvenes December 1-2 in Paris. The Paris meeting is a sub-group of the IVC delegates who will explore strategies for moving forward in vocations. 

It will be hosted by Sister Nathalie Becquart, Xav., director of the National Service for the Evangelization of Youth and for Vocations at the bishops’ conference in Paris. Representing NRVC will be Executive Director Brother Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Director of Member Relations and Services Sister Deborah Borneman, SS.C.M., and Board Chair Brother Ronnie Hingle, S.C.

"After the recent terrorist attacks, it will be especially poignant to have this meeting in Paris as a sign of our solidarity with people suffering from grief," noted Brother Paul.

The International Vocation Conference held in February as part of the Year of Consecrated Life was the first such meeting of its kind. It gathered more than a dozen national vocation and religious life leaders from the developed world. The statement released by attendees discussed a range of common concerns, including the need for a comprehensive theology of religious life that would be studied in seminaries, and the need to collaborate on and share communications and resources.