Now here’s a very cool idea!

A group of Catholic moms in Omaha have been producing priest trading cards in an effort to promote vocations and raise some money for the Omaha Archdiocese Seminarian Fund.

“We wanted to take something secular and put a holy twist to it,” said Diane Anderson, another of the moms involved in the project. “We wanted to make it personal, something fun, but something holy as well.”

Vankat and Anderson, along with Lori Mellender and Cathy Hula, said they wanted a fun way for children, particularly boys, to not only participate in a popular hobby, but also learn about local priests and pray for them. They also hope the cards will foster vocations to the priesthood.

They’ve already had great success in raising funds—they anticipate earning about $20,000 at the end of the project. Though this particular project is local to Omaha, it’s a model that would easily be copied in other areas of the country. The moms in this project used a custom trading card company to produce their cards.

Volunteers gathered information about the priests, took photos, and sold the cards. No cards were made without the priest’s permission, of course. And some of them were thrilled.

Father David Korth (pictured), a former baseball player, was especially happy to participate in the project.

Father Dave Korth said the project is a dream come true for him. A former baseball player at Mount Marty College in Yankton, S.D., Father Korth said he always wanted to have his own trading card. He likes to see people develop new ideas on how to encourage vocations.

There are obviously some very smart moms behind this project. I think the idea is an excellent one and I hope it will catch on in other areas of the country. Kids love to collect cards. What better way to increase awareness of our priests, encourage prayer for them, and inspire young people to consider vocations to the priesthood—all while raising money to support seminarians?

Way to go, Omaha Moms!