When it comes to inviting youth to become tomorrow’s Catholic priests, brothers and sisters, things have moved to the internet.

Eighty percent of new recruits, or vocations now come from the internet, a vocations director of a major men’s religious order told me at the annual Here I Am Lord Youth conference this past weekend in St. Charles, IL. Hundreds of youth converged at St. Patrick’s Catholic parish in this western Chicago suburb to hear top Catholic speakers and musicians help youth find their calling in life, whether it be marriage, the single life, or a religious calling.

Getting their feet wet

Among priests and sisters staffing the booths, some were very experienced in using websites, enewsletters and online advertising, while others were just getting their feet wet, perhaps feeling a little behind in things. “I know I have to learn about these things,” one priest told me. He knew how to use a word processing program, but that was about it. I was happy to explain to him about enewsletters, and how the popular social media site, Facebook works. Once you sign up with Facebook as a member, which is free, you can invite others whom you meet to become your friend. When they agree to accept your invitation, they can see your profile and what your other friends have written on your “wall.” A religious brother told me, “When I get an email from someone on Facebook asking me to be their friend, I naturally assume that it is because they are interested in a vocation. So I say yes.”

Car sales ride on the internet

These new ways of promotion hold true in the business world as well. I spoke with the general manager of a large Toyota dealership in the Chicago area recently. “Fifty-five percent of our sales are done completely over the internet,” he told me. He had a staff working the internet as well as walking the lot. “When they come in,” he said of the internet sales, “all they do is the paperwork.” Whether it be recruiting Catholic vocations or making auto sales, promotion is all about relationships. It is something that is not easy, but it takes knowledge, experience and persistence.

Listen up

“Young people, in particular, have grasped the enormous capacity of the new media to foster connectedness, communication and understanding between individuals and communities…” - Pope Benedict XVI, apostolic letter on the internet Jan. 29, 2009