NYC Gazette

Celebrating its 400th anniversary, the Congregation of the Mission organized the third annual Vocation Festival at St. John’s University to showcase various religious service options within the Church. The event took place on October 24 in the D’Angelo Center courtyard and featured representatives from 17 Catholic religious communities, ranging from local areas such as Brooklyn and Queens, NY, to distant locations like Philadelphia, PA, and Washington, DC.

The festival offered attendees food, soft drinks, and music by DJ Zeke—Ezekiel O. Akinyemi ’08TCB—who reflected on his past experiences playing in churches around St. John's. "People might not realize it," he said, "but my first events as a DJ included playing in churches around St. John’s."

Rev. Luis Romero, C.M. ’14C., Vocation Director for the Congregation of the Mission of the Eastern Province, led the organization of this event which aimed to celebrate diverse vocation opportunities within the Church. These ranged from priestly vocations within the Diocese of Brooklyn to missionary orders such as the Blessed Trinity Ministry Institute and Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

St. John’s Vincentian heritage was also represented by groups like the Congregation of the Mission and Daughters of Charity.

Among those attending was Estevao Neitzke, a sophomore Philosophy major from Brazil studying at Redemptorist Mater Seminary in Queens Village with aspirations to become a priest in Brooklyn's Diocese. He recounted how similar events influenced his decision towards priesthood: “It was at an event similar to this,” Estevao shared about when he first seriously considered becoming a priest.

Sr. Jean Rhoads from Daughters of Charity expressed her hopes that more students would contemplate lives dedicated toward serving others through church work: “In our current world," she stated,"there are so many needs out there... An event like this is really to help young people know that this is an option for their lives.”