In his interview about Iraq, Joseph Pronechen also asked Father Kenneth Cienik about his vocation and the vocation crisis.

What led you to the priesthood?

I come from a Polish ethnic background where the Catholic faith was very much a part of our daily family lives. My family roots were supportive in responding to the grace of the Holy Spirit.

I credit my pastor, Father William Savage, with planting the seed. I remember looking up to him. He was an impressive man. He had his act together. He was a very balanced person. He played basketball at Duquesne, was a World War II chaplain and at home with young and old, rich and poor. Even as a kid I saw he had a holiness about him.

St. Francis attracted me because he was a blend of contemplation and action. I discovered the Friars of the Atonement in a copy of The Lamp magazine in my parish church.

And the chaplaincy?

There were three things. As a young priest, I became very much aware of the tremendous need for priests in the Military Archdiocese. I enjoyed working with young men and women in high schools in Ontario and North Carolina, and the bulk of people you minister to in the military are young people — average age is 21.I love to travel and this was an opportunity to do that.

What is your outlook as a vocation director?

Two issues that need to be addressed are generational and cultural. I firmly believe that many are being called to priesthood and religious life, especially among the young.

I think there's something to be said about revisiting the 19- to 29-year-olds. Look at Franciscan University and Texas A&M and the response to the call to service in the Church there. The young are enthusiastic and devoted to the sacraments, Our Lady, the Holy Father and the magisterium, and evangelization.

Over the last few years a significant number of vocations have been foreign nationals, primarily Latinos and Asians, among others, who serve as an important source of vocations.