Vocational discernment in the Catholic Church

An illustration from a children's catechism shows a boy and a girl discerning vocations to the religious life, encouraging young readers to consider such a possibility for themselves

Vocational discernment is the process by which men and women in the Catholic Church discern, or recognize, their vocation in the church and the world. The vocations are the life of a layperson in the world, either married or single, the ordained life of bishops, priests, and deacons, and consecrated religious life.