Action Steps

Action Steps

• Review RSVP guidelines and eligibility requirements.
• Locate a candidate to support. If you need help, contact your pastor or diocesan vocations director.
• After a candidate’s name and address is secured, prepare and send a letter of introduction from your council, assembly or circle.
• Define how money is to be raised.
• Define how the relationship will be managed.
• Define how money will be exchanged or presented.
• When presenting money to an RSVP candidate, notify the diocesan vocations director.
• Take photos and send them to your local and diocesan newspapers, and Columbia magazine. Be sure caption information is complete and each individual’s name is spelled correctly.
• RSVP assistance also involves prayer and moral support.  Make at least one personal visit to each seminarian, and send four letters – i.e.: birthday, Christmas, Easter, and welcome back to school greetings – each fraternal year.
• Encourage members and their families to keep seminarian or postulant in their prayers; make personal visits to them; and send communications throughout the year – i.e. birthday, Christmas, Easter greetings.
• Invite seminarian or postulant to all council activities and include in mailing of newsletter or other communications.
• Invite seminarians or postulants to make a presentation to the council, parish, and/or parish youth groups on what it means to prepare for priesthood or religious life.
• Arrange for seminarian or postulant to host a group of young people from the council or parish at their seminary to meet other seminarians and get a feeling of preparing for priesthood or religious life.
• Make sure to offer congratulations and support to your seminarian or postulant on their ordination.
• Apply for a refund from Supreme Council office – to be eligible for refund, monies must be given directly to an individual (not a an institution of fund)); money given to an individual must be vocations related and donated between July – June 30 of the respective fraternal year; paid with a check drawn from the council-assembly account; and copies of check or other documentation must accompany application for refund. Refer to the RSVP Refund Application (#2863) for exact details and procedures for filing for this refund.
• Request an RSVP Award Plaque. To qualify for an RSVP plaque, the council, assembly, or circle must provide financial assistance, as well as moral support throughout the fraternal year. Refer to the RSVP Refund Application (#2863) for exact details and procedures for requesting this plaque.

Support Materials

In addition to supporting seminarians and postulants through the Order’s RSVP Program, councils, assemblies and circles are encouraged to conduct programs and activities that promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

The following vocations materials are available from the Supreme Council.

To order audiovisual productions, please contact the Supreme Council Department of Fraternal Mission or order online.

To order the printed pamphlets, brochures and certificates, please contact the Supreme Council Supply Department.

When ordering materials, please use the online request form when available; or mail or fax a Requisition Form (#1) to the respective department.

Orders made online or faxed in should not be mailed because it may result in duplicate order. Please allow four weeks to ensure delivery by the event.